Vatican City, Mar 19, 2019 / 11:01 am
Pope Francis declared Tuesday the martyrdom of seven Greek-Catholic bishops killed by the communist regime in Romania in the mid-20th century.
Bishops Valeriu Traian Frentiu, Vasile Aftenie, Ioan Suciu, Tito Livio Chinezu, Ioan Balan, Alexandru Rusu, and Iuliu Hossu were declared to have been killed "in hatred of the faith" between 1950 and 1970, during the Soviet occupation of Romania and the rule of Nicolae Ceausescu.
Each of the bishops was arrested and held in prisons and camps until he died, often from isolation, cold, hunger, disease, or hard manual labor. Most were never tried or convicted and were buried in unmarked graves, without religious services.
A year before his death, Bishop Iuliu Hossu was named a cardinal "in pectore." After spending years in isolation, he died in a hospital in Bucharest in 1970. His last words were: "My struggle is over, yours continues."
In addition to imprisonment and isolation, Bishop Vasile Aftenie was tortured at the Interior Ministry, later dying from his wounds May 10, 1950.