Würzburg, Germany, Sep 26, 2016 / 13:29 pm
Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig, a priest of the Mariannhill Mission society who was interred in the Nazi's Dachau concentration camp and has been recognized as a martyr, was beatified during a Mass on Saturday.
Bishop Friedhelm Hofmann of Würzburg said during his homily for the Sept. 24 Mass at the city's cathedral that Fr. Unzeitig, known as the "Angel of Dachau", brought the light of God's goodness to the place where his presence "is least expected."
Fr. Unzeitig lived under a "dehumanizing dictatorship," Bishop Hofmann noted, saying, "we can learn from him not to subject ourselves to a dictatorship, even a dictatorship of opinions."
The following day, before leading pilgrims to Rome in the Angelus, Pope Francis made note of the beatification, saying that "Killed in hatred of the faith" Fr. Unzeitig "opposed hatred with love, and answered ferocity answered with meekness. May his example help us to be witnesses of charity and hope even in the midst of tribulations."