Introduction
In the encyclical prepared for the Great Jubilee 2000, The Advent of the third Millennium, Pope John Paul II
introduced the idea of preserving the memory of Christians who died for their faith during the 20th Century.
In our own century the martyrs have returned, many of them nameless, "unknown soldiers," as it were, of
God's great cause. As far as possible, their witness should not be lost to the Church. (TM 37)
In response to this appeal a commission was established at the Vatican which has gathered and catalogued
the stories of more than twelve thousand Christians world wide who died for the faith during the 20th
Century. It does not deal with the process of beatification or canonization, but recalls the accounts of
Christians who were killed because they were Christian.
“The history of their murders is the story of their weakness and their defeat. Nevertheless these Christians in
spite of their weaknesses displayed a special moral and spiritual strength of character: They did not
renounce their faith, their convictions, their service to others, or the Church in order to save their lives or
assure their survival.
In extreme weakness and at great risk they demonstrated tremendous strength. This is in reality the history
of Christianity. On this Christians of the 21st century are called to reflect in order to emulate their strength of
faith. Such a reflection will also force us to a clearer understanding of the history of the past century (Andrea
Riccardi, Il secolo dei martiri, p. 12).
The SCJ Family is a part of this reality. March 11, 2001, was the beatification of Fr. Juan Maria de la Cruz
García Méndez, SCJ (1891-1936), a joyous occasion and one that should fill SCJs with gratitude. However,
Fr. Méndez is not the only SCJ martyr of the XXth century. In the following chapters we will recount the
stories of various dehonians who gave witness to the power of weakness in their Christianity. Thus, we try to
respond to the invitation of our general superior, Fr. Virginio Bressanelli :
"to draw up, as some Provinces have already done, a biographical memorial of those more outstanding
figures amongst our brothers and sisters who can serve as models and encouragement for us in living out
more sincerely the vocation and mission which is ours in the Church and world of our day (Prot. N.
286/2000)."
Spain 1936
Father Juan María de la Cruz, SCJ
Martyr of the Religious Persecution during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
"God's Blessings! Let all things be done according to the divine will. I am very happy to be able to suffer with
Him, because He suffered so much for me, a poor sinner."
(Letter from Fr. Mendez, a few days before his death).
The life and martyrdom of Fr. Mendez, SCJ, introduces us to a dark chapter in modern Spanish history -- the
religious persecution during the Civil War from 1936 to 1939.
Mariano García Méndez was born on September 25, 1891, in San Esteban de los Patos in the Province of
Avila, the firstborn of 15 children. After his seminary training, he was ordained a priest for the diocese of
Avila. His deep desire to lead a life of greater perfection led him toward religious life, but his first steps in this
direction failed due to his poor health.
After his novitiate at Novelda (Alicante), Fr. Mendez made his first profession on October 31, 1926 and took
the religious name of Fr. Juan María de la Cruz. Enjoying limited success as teacher in the minor seminary
at Novelda, he became a fundraiser in 1929, begging for money in villages and market towns and looking for
young students to direct to the congregation's minor seminary.
The Civil War, opposing nationalists and republicans, broke out on July 18, 1936. In this context, on July 23,
1936, Fr. Juan traveled to Valencia seeking to find refuge with one of the congregation's benefactors. "While
traveling from the train station to the home of Señora Pilar, he passed by the church of 'de los Juanes' in the
center of the city. He was horrified by 'a horrible spectacle' -- his own words -- when he saw men ripping
apart the church interior and preparing to burn down the church. He could not stand by in silence. Fr. Juan
did not hide his disdain at seeing the church torched. When the evildoers said to each other: 'He's a
reactionary!' He responded 'No, I am a priest!' The republicans there upon arrested him and took him to jail
Modelo of Valencia.”
Afterwards, witnesses recalled that Fr. Juan led an exemplary priestly life in prison. He remained faithful to
his religious practices, cared for other's pastoral needs as he prepared for martyrdom. On the night of August
23-24, 1936 together with nine other prisoners, Fr. Juan was taken south of Valencia to be shot. On August
24th the bodies of the victims were thrown into a common grave in the cemetery of Silla." (Bothe, 20th
Century SCJ Martyrs, p 14).
On March 11, 2001, Pope John Paul II has declared him blessed along with other Spanish Martyrs.
Germany 1941
Fr. Franz Loh, scj
Victim of the Nazi Struggles againsts Religious Life
"Fr. Loh did not hold up well under incarceration. The harshness of prison life combined with his diabetic
condition led to a quick death only a few days after the community had learned where he had been taken. Fr.
Loh died on March 20, 1941. His body was released to the community. Fr. Schunck , who had followed him
as provincial superior, had him vested in red vestments in his coffin. It was forbidden to give a homily,
enforced by two members of the Gestapo. The scjs left the the grave side greatly shaken." (Bothe,
Dehoniana 2000/3, p. 111).
Martin Bormann, one of the prominent Nazis, wrote in 1930: "National Socialist and Christian concepts are
incompatible. All structures which influence people which in any way could weaken or impair the Führer and
the National Socialist Party, must be eliminated." (The Century of Martyrs, Riccardi, p. 79)
Though religious communities appeared weak in the eyes of the Nazis (compared to the hierarchy), they
soon proved to be even more inflexible, and thus drew the attention of National Socialists. In 1935 the
National Socialists enacted strict exchange restrictions which affected religious congregations, including The
Priests of the Sacred Heart. Fr. Franz Loh, provincial superior from 1932 to 1936 quickly understood the
future of the congregation in Germany was at stake. Since it was not possible to save the house at Sittard by
legal means he resorted to sending it funds secretly.
In 1935, after Fr. Philippe had been made bishop " he came to Sittard in order to ordain the deacon class of
the German province to the priesthood. On the day after their ordination the house received frightful news.
The German secret police (Gestapo) had discovered all. A German laybrother who had Nazi leanings had
turned them in." (Bothe, Dehoniana 2000/3, p. 80)
In April of 1936 a trial took place at Krefeld. Some of the accused scjs were already in prison while others
like Fr. Loh were fugitives. Thirteen scjs were fined and sentenced to prison. Fr. Loh, as chief executive
officer, was condemned to four years in prison at forced labor, four years loss of civil rights, and a fine of
500,000 marks.
After the invasion of Luxemburg by the Germans Fr. Loh was discovered on December 10, 1940 and
immediately arrested and was first sent to Rheinbach/Bonn and then to the Dusseldorf prison infirmary. "He
did not hold up well under incarceration. The harshness of prison life combined with his diabetic condition led
to a quick death only a few days after the community had learned where he had been taken. Fr. Loh died on
March 20, 1941. His body was released to the community. Fr. Schunck , who had followed him as provincial
superior, had him vested in red vestments in his coffin. It was forbidden to give a homily, enforced by two
members of the Gestapo. The scjs left the the grave side greatly shaken. Shortly before his death Fr. Loh
had confided to one of his conferrers the he wanted to offer up his lonely death for the communities of the
congregation." (Bothe, Dehoniana 2000/3, p. 111).
Austria 1942
Fr. Wampach e Fr. Stoffels
Victims of Nazi Terror:
"I am in the hands of God; a Catholic priest must always be proud to carry and share in the cross of Our
Master. My consolation lies in prayer and in union with God and, certainly, in your love for me."
(Dachau Concentration Camp May 3, 1942, Fr. Stoffels wrote in a letter to his sister.)
The two SCJ priests Joseph Benedict Stoffels (born in 1895) and Nicolas Anthony Wampachw (born in
1909) were sent to minister to Luxemburgers in Paris near where the future parish of St. Joseph the Worker
would be established.
"In 1940 after the invasion of Luxemburg by the Germans, many Luxemburgers fled to Paris where these two
SCJs, together with a diocesan priest, helped the refugees. After the fall of France, they helped many in their
quest to return to Luxemburg. In a journal it is written: 'In this purely charitable work ... the Gestapo (the Nazi
Secret Police) suspected espionage.' After several interrogations toward the end of 1940, the two priests
were finally arrested on March 7, 1941, and sent to Buchenwald. They were transferred to Dachau on
September 21, 1941.
The official story is that they died of bronchitis or angina. The family of Fr. Stoffels was sent his ashes. As
happened in many similar cases, the funerals were held under the surveillance of the Gestapo on August 31,
1942, almost secretly, without bells, songs or participation by parishioners.
"Only after forty years of research has it been learned that the two SCJ priests were gassed at Hartheim
Castle in Austria together with two other priests from Luxemburg. Hartheim is about 165 miles from Dachau
in a tiny region of Austria called Alkoven. Here a chamber was constructed to experiment with different types
of gas. The trip from Dachau to Hartheim took about four hours. The windows of the van were blacked out
and it was officially designated as an ambulance. In the castle the procedures were the same as in other
concentration camps. The prisoners were striped of everything. Under the pretext that they were to be
photographed they were led to the 'showers' in which gas issued from the shower heads ." (Bothe, p. 21)
Hartheim Castle is a fine example of a Renaissance castle. Under the Nazis it had various uses. It was an
integral part of the Nazi euthanasia program. Sick and disabled people were sent here for cruel
experimentation and then gassed. In this context Fr. Stoffels, who had suffered from a number of illnesses
especially respiratory infections, was transferred to Hartheim under the pretense that he was an invalid.
Fr. Stoffels was murdered in one of the gas chambers on May 25,1942. Fr. Wampach on August 12,1942.
Italy 1944
Fr. Martino Capelli, SCJ
In the Salvaro cemetary, there are markers to Don Elia and to Fr. Martino: in tribute to their witness as
pastors of Monte Sole: There is no greater love than to give one's own life Father Nicholas Martino Capelli
revealed this in the way he lived and in the magnitude of his simple martyr's death.
After hearing a conference on the martyrs in Mexico shortly after taking his first vows in 1931, Nicola Martino
Capelli wrote: "O Virgin of the Mexican martyrs, allow me also one day to be a martyr for Christ the King and
for you, Immaculate Virgin. O mother I write you still touched by the conference given on the Mexican
martyrs. I am sure that through the intercession of your martyrs you will grant me this wish. Your son, Frater
Martino Capelli." (Missionario mancato Ü martire esaudito: P. Martino Capelli, SCJ, SCJ Postulator's Office,
Bologna 1996)
He had great Marian devotion and dreamed of becoming a missionary. He had great intellectual capacity
and developed an enthusiasm for pastoral work when he was called to help the priests in the area around
Castiglione.
On July 20th,Fr. Capelli left for Salvaro to help Monsignor Mellini, the former pastor. There he met a Silesian,
Don Elia Comini and the two became fast friends until death.
On September 29, 1944, answering the call to aid the wounded, Fr. Capelli and Fr.Comini were arrested by
the Germans as spies. At first the soldiers used them to transport their ammunition up and down the
mountain under escort. They were then imprisoned along with a large group of other partisans in a stable
belonging to a rope factory in Pioppe di Salvaro. After two days of cruel imprisonment on Sunday October 1,
Frs. Capelli and Comini along with 44 other partisans were led to the so-called "vault" of the rope factory
where they were cut down by machine gun fire from the Nazi SS. A few were able to pretend death under
the stack of bodies and saved themselves by waiting until the German soldiers departed. One of them was
able to recount the last gesture of Fr. Martin Capelli. Wounded and dying, he raised his arm said a few words
and a blessing and then fell with arms extended in the form of the cross. He was 32 years old.
All traces of him and the others who were executed were lost when water-tight dam bulkheads were opened
and their bodies were washed into the Reno River. "One Day, O mother, we will meet at my martyr's death."
(Fr. Capelli in his Consecration to the Immaculate Virgin).
Germany 1945
Fr. Kristiaan Hubertus Muermans (1909 - 1945)
Little Known Resistance Fighter
"He was busy with the resistance press and helped many young people to go underground in order to
prevent the Gestapo from arresting them and sending them off to labor camps. When the Gestapo learned of
this, he was arrested right in front of his pupils’ eyes! After several days incarceration in Brussels he was
successively transferred to various concentration camps: Buchenwald, Ellrich, Harzungen and Dora where
he died on February 12, 1945, only a few weeks before the camp was liberated by the American army."
" Responding to a call rooted in the humiliation of his homeland, he operated in several resistance groups. In
May 1944 he fell into the hands of the Gestapo, who took him away forever." (Sint Unum, 1947)
Born on March 9, 1909 in Hees Bilzen, Beligum, Kristiaan Muermans made his first profession in 1928 and
was ordained a priest in 1933 at Louvain. The following year he was teaching in our school at Tervuren and
remained there for several years. At the outbreak of World War II he was called up to active military duty.
According to a letter sent to Fr. Bothe by his brother, Wim Muermans, when Fr. Kristiaan Muermans returned
to Beligum he became active in the resistance.
"He was busy with the resistance press and helped many young people to go underground in order to
prevent the Gestapo from arresting them and sending them off to labor camps. When the Gestapo learned of
this, he was arrested right in front of his pupils’ eyes! After several days incarceration in Brussels he was
successively transferred to various concentration camps: Buchenwald, Ellrich, Harzungen and Dora where
he died on February 12, 1945, only a few weeks before the camp was liberated by the American army." (cf.
Bernd Bothe, SCJ Martyrs of the XXth Century, p. 31).
We now know that Fr. Muermans died near Blankenburg in one of the 40 sub-camps of the Mittlebau-Dora
Concentration camp. From 1943 to 1945 Dora produced arms for the Germany Army, especially rockets.
These arms were produced in an immense underground factory, the largest of its kind up until then. The size
of this underground factory is hard to comprehend. An enormous tunnel stretched for 20 km (12.43 miles)
and was 30 m (98.43 ft) high. There some 60,000 prisoners from Mittlebau-Dora camps worked as slaves,
some 20,000 of whom died, including Fr. Muermans. The circumstances of his death remain obscure.
Fr. Muermans left us no writings. There was only his commitment in the resistance to young people which
cost him his life, as these words by André Jarlan, himself murdered in Chile in 1984, describe:
"Those truly alive are those who offer their life, not those who take it from others. For us the Resurrection is
not a myth but a reality. This event we celebrate in each Eucharist encourages us in the conviction that the
giving of oneself is worthwhile, and it challenges us to do so!" (cf. 20thCentury Martyrs, Riccardi, p. 23; Cf.
Bernard Bothe, SCJ Martyrs of the XXth Century, p. 29-35)
Indonesia 1994-45
Victims of War Crimes
The Dutch SCJs in Indonesia
The daily ration of rice varied from 100 to 300 grams. This treatment was the practice in Japanese
concentration camps to weaken and slowly exterminate prisoners. The lack of nutrition led to the elimination
of activities such as schools. Often the internees became too weak to attend camp funerals…
The death of 11 Dutch SCJs in a Japanese concentration camp at Muntok on Bangka Island in Indonesia
between 1944 and 1945 is a part of a very complex story. It is tied up with the war crimes of the Japanese
against the civil population of occupied countries, the fall of Holland as a colonial power, the rise of an
Indonesian independence movement, World War II in the Pacific area, and, last but not least, the life and
sufferings of individual SCJs. To be more precise, it is the culmination of many diverse elements coming
together interdependently making it difficult to give suitable consideration of the witness given by these
SCJs. For these reasons they have often been consigned to oblivion.
On February 15, 1942, Japanese troops overran the island of Sumatra, a part of the Dutch colonial empire.
Initially after the invasion the mission work continued unimpeded. This situation changed radically starting on
April 1,1942, when all the European nationals were interred. The men were imprisoned in Palembang, while
the women and children were quartered in some European homes. Later on the internees were forced to
construct with their own hands two concentration camps, one for women and the other for men.
In July and August 1943 the Japanese began a policy of vigorously rounding up of persons suspected of
collaborating with the allies. Consequently, many Europeans in the concentration camps in Palembang, and
among them many religious, were deported to Muntok on the island of Bangka.
Muntok is an arid area with a very harsh climate. The daily ration of rice varied from 100 to 300 grams. This
treatment was the practice in Japanese concentration camps to weaken and slowly exterminate prisoners.
The lack of nutrition led to the elimination of activities such as schools. Often the internees became too weak
to attend camp funerals.
In Muntok, due to the lack of nutrition, 250 out of some 942 men died; similar statistics applied to the women;
probably greater numbers of children died. Among those who died were 11 Dutch SCJs:
01. Fr. Heinrich Norbert van Oort,
02. Fr. Peter Matthias Cobbern,
03. Fr. Francis Hofstad,
04. Fr. Isidore Gabriel Mikkers,
05. Fr. Theodore Thomas Kappers,
06. Fr. Andrew Gebbing,
07. Fr. Peter Nicasius van Eyk,
08. Fr. Francis John v. Iersel,
09. Fr. Wilhelm Francisc Hoffmann,
10. Br. Matthew Gerard Schulte,
11. Br. Wilfrid Theodore van der Werf.
Cameroon 1959
To be united with the Cross
Three Priests of the Sacred Heart in the Cameroon
“In the present situation one must have an imperturbable faith, absolute confidence and unblemished love...
It is a moment of trial for us as priests and for us as Christians. God tests us with fire and blood; may His will
be done. This requires us to offer ourselves in His service and to be united ourselves with His sacrifice, the
Cross.”
(Fr. Héberlé, September 9, 1959.)
In many parts of Africa during the period after the Second World War the continent was shaped by very
different ways individual countries achieved their independence. Cameroon was divided into two United
Nations trust territories, one under British, and the other under French administration. The independence
movement became a powerful force during the 1950's leading to the outbreak of violence.
Fr. Héberlé, a French SCJ who had spent 25 years in the Cameroon, understood the local situation well:
“The Cameroon people are very much aware of their national interests. They want to arrive at full
emancipation... The Catholic Church has adapted to this situation and has turned over more and more
responsibility to the local clergy. The Church had distanced itself from Western politics and has denounced
the devastating consequences of western materialism” (from Vie Catholique, August 28, 1960).
In 1959, while on vacation to his native France, he was urged by many not to return to the Cameroon in view
of the dangers there. In a letter sent in September 1959, he described why, despite all the dangers, he
returned to his mission:
“I had to struggle with myself, against my entire family's feelings and my own, up until the very end. In such a
situation we become aware that we must die to self and renounce everything in order to follow Our Lord and
carry his cross. If I returned to my mission, it was solely to do the will Jesus Christ and to be united to the
souls which he entrusted to me and for whom I am responsible before God. In the present situation one must
have an imperturbable faith, absolute confidence and unblemished love... It is a moment of trial for us as
priests and for us as Christians. God tests us with fire and blood; may His will be done. This requires us to
offer ourselves in His service and to be united ourselves with His sacrifice, the Cross.” (September 9, 1959.)
On August 30, 1959, Fr. Musslin, SCJ, was murdered at his mission station. On November 29, 1959 the
mission station at Banka Banfang was attacked. Early on, Fr. Héberlé, SCJ, was shot and then beheaded.
Br. Valentin Sarron, SCJ, tried to flee, but was caught and also beheaded. Additionally, another Cameroon
priest and a catechist also died during this attack on the mission.
Congo 1964
Revolutionary Chaos - 28 SCJs Martyred in the Congo
“For the love of the gospel the SCJs left their homeland to come to Africa. For the love of Christ they awaited
the arrival of a chaotic revolution in the Congo even if many of them could easily have fled. As missionaries,
as priests and as agents of the Church they were persecuted and killed. This is the stuff of which martyrs are
made.”
(Andrea Tessarolo scj, Missionario e martire della carità, p. 232)
In 1960 the Belgian Congo became an independent nation. In 1961 the Congolese Prime Minister Patrice
Lumumba was assassinated. Civil war waged by the Simba radicals under the guidance of Pierre Mulele
traumatized the country. In August 1964, the city of Wamba fell to the Simbas and a reign of terror began.
Bishop Wittebols, SCJ, and other SCJs had to endure a forced march barefoot and were exposed to all sorts
of beatings. With his eyeglasses taken from him causing him to fall down repeatedly, Bishop Wittebols died
from being beaten. Many others were struck by the people gathered in the inner courtyard of a prison and
shot before the eyes of all.
Twenty-eight SCJs were killed in the context of the so-called Simba rebellion after beatings and torture:
01. Fr. Henry van der Vegt,
02. Fr. Joseph Tegels,
03. Fr. Frances ten Bosch,
04. Fr. John de Vries,
05. Fr. Henry Hams,
06. Fr. Peter v. d. Biggelaar,
07. Fr. Johnenter,
08. Fr. Gerard Nieuwkamp,
09. Br. Damian Brabers,
10. Br. Joseph Vanderbeek,
11. Br. Aloysius Paps,
12. Fr. Charles Bellinckx,
13. Fr. Leonard Janssen,
14. Fr. Cristian Vandael,
15. Fr. Clement Burnotte,
16. Fr. James Moreau,
17. Br. Andrew Laureys,
18. Fr. Herman Bisschop,
19. Fr. Joseph Conrad,
20. Fr. John Trausch,
21. Fr. Amor Aubert,
22. Fr. Henricus Verberne,
23. Fr. Arnold Schouenberg,
24. Br. Arnolf Schouenberg,
25. Fr. William Vranken,
26. Fr. Jerome Vandemoere,
27. Bishop Joseph Wittebols,
28. The Servant of God Fr. Bernard Longo.
The servant of God, Fr. Bernard Longo, SCJ, was shot on November 3,1964, in Mambasa, after he had lived
more than 25 years as a missionary in the Congo. A short time before his death he wrote in his diary (which
was discovered two years after his death):
“During this period I am fortunate that the Sacred Heart of Jesus grants me internal peace and the grace of
short prayers which give me the strength to push on. As evening comes on I walk over to the convent to
assure the mission sisters that the Mother of God protects us and that we must entrust ourselves to the will
of the Lord, even if it is His desire to bring us to heaven by the power of a bullet” (Diary P. Longo, September
29, 1964).
In a book on the life of Fr. Longo, Fr. Tessarolo, SCJ, writes:
“For the love of the gospel the SCJs left their homeland to come to Africa. For the love of Christ they awaited
the arrival of a chaotic revolution in the Congo even if many of them could easily have fled. As missionaries,
as priests and as agents of the Church they were persecuted and killed. This is the stuff of which martyrs are
made (Missionario e martire della carità, p. 232)."
Brazil 1975
Fr. Paulo Punt
Two lines from a long poem written by a woman in honor of Fr. Paulo [Punt] the Fisherman on his birthday
three years before his death: Promoting the human person Teaching them how to work Showing them the
way To confront the struggles that lie ahead. His Church is the sea The ship is his altar Always ready to help
The faithful on his vine.
In December 2000, SCJs in Brazil received the following invitation:
“The Mayor of Tamandaré (Pernambuco, Brazil), Paul Guimarães dos Santos, has the honor of inviting you
to concelebrate Mass on December 15, 2000 at 6:00 PM in the Colonia dos Pescadores [Fishermen's
quarter] on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the death of Fr. Paulo Punt. After Mass in the plaza there
will be the dedication of a monument in his honor.”
Who was this confrere who is still fresh in the minds of the inhabitants of Tamandaré?
Father Paul was born in Holland in 1913 and left his native land in 1936 to strengthen the SCJ presence in
Northeast Brazil. After his ordination in 1941, he worked in parish ministry. In 1968 he came to Tamandaré
and, in addition to his parochial work, took up the fishing trade. He was sensitive to the difficult situation
faced by the fishermen and the poor among whom he lived. Father Paul helped the people organize
themselves into a cooperative. He became its president. Being a coastal city, Tamandaré was an entry point
for smuggled liquor and household electrical products. When Father Paul became aware of this, he saw the
dangers this posed for his parishioners. On various occasions, he denounced the smugglers. Because of this
he made many enemies and was frequently harassed by them.
In an effort to get him out of the city, he was accused of being a communist, which during the time of the
military dictatorship in the country was a very serious accusation. But the national authorities recognized that
these accusations were groundless.
At various times Fr. Peter Neefs, SCJ, provincial superior, fearing for Father Paul's life, tried to persuade him
to leave Tamandaré. Though he knew the mortal risk to his life that he was taking, he was convinced that
Tamandaré was the place where he should be.
With his many activities Fr. Paul did not see the dangerous web being weaved around him.
December 15, 1975 was a festive day. It was graduation day at the local high school. At the end of the day
after the conclusion of the ceremonies the assassin headed toward Fr. Paul and mortally wounded him with
three deadly shots. While the local police authorities called it a crime of passion, the people knew that the
assassin was used to silence the voice of Fr. Paulo.
It is important to realize that those murderous bullets did not succeed in destroying Fr. Paul in the minds and
hearts of the people of Tamandaré.