Salesian Martyr Fr. Titus Zeman Beatified
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USA West Province Newsletter • San Francisco, California October 15, 2017 Salesian Martyr OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS Fr. Marc Rougeau.................5 Fr. Titus Zeman Beatified Br. Jerry Weirich...................5 Br. John Rasor.......................7 Fr. Steve Whelan................14 Br. Vien Minh Nguyen.......17 Fr. Joe Boenzi.....................27 Fr. Al Pestun.......................28 Br. Jhoni Chamorro............30 Fr. Moses Yun.....................31 PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SICK Fr. Lucian Lomello, SDB Br. Jerry Weirich, SDB Br. Tony Matse, SDB Blessed Titus Zeman’s remains are presented in a specially designed casket at the beatification Mass. (ANS) Fr. Armand Oliveri, SDB Fr. Mario Rosso, SDB Fr. Avelino Lorenzo, SDB Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, pre- ter 12 years, his health broken. His Fr. Arthur Lenti, SDB fect of the Congregation for Saints’ death on January 8, 1969, due to Causes, beatified Salesian Fr. Titus heart failure, was a direct result of Zeman, martyr, on Saturday, Sep- the torture he had experienced dur- REST IN PEACE tember 30, in Bratislava, Slovakia. ing interrogation and in prison. Fr. Joseph Dinh Fr. Zeman had been arrested in Fr. Zeman’s cause as a martyr was Former Salesian 1951 by the Communist authorities initiated in Bratislava in 2010, and Sept. 28, 2017 of what was then Czechoslovakia, in 2016 the CSC declared he was a charged as a traitor and a Vatican martyr who had suffered “in hatred Fr. Larry Lorenzoni, SDB spy for smuggling young Salesians of the faith.” Pope Francis approved Sept. 5, 2017 out of the country, and sentenced in the decree of beatification earlier 1952 to prison. He was paroled af- this year. INTOUCH • October 15, 2017 1 Fr. Zeman in his youth Fr. Zeman’s prison “mug shots.” (Salesians of Don Bosco) Fr. Zeman became the second Sale- Cameroni), two of Fr. Zeman’s sis- celebration, focusing on the timeli- sian beatified as a martyr at the ters, and other relatives. One of the ness of Fr. Zeman’s witness in view hands of the Communist regimes priests present was Fr. Al Pestun, 89, of the upcoming synod of bishops of Eastern Europe. In 2013 Bro. of the San Francisco Province, pa- on “Young people, faith, and voca- Stephen Sandor was beatified in rochial vicar of Corpus Christi Par- tional discernment.” His relics were Budapest; he had been hanged in ish in San Francisco. He is the last placed at a side altar of the parish 1953 by the Hungarian government surviving Salesian whom Fr. Zeman church where he had been baptized for the “crime” of youth ministry. A attempted to lead from Czechoslo- and confirmed and celebrated his third potential martyr’s cause was vakia to Austria and on to Turin; the first Mass in 1940. just initiated (October 6) in Poznan, attempt was unsuccessful, but semi- Poland, that of Archbishop Anthony narian Bro. Pestun escaped later. Baraniak, SDB (1904-1977), arch- bishop of Poznan (1957-1977), de- Cardinal Amato preached that “to scribed by the current archbishop as donate his life for his brothers was a “martyr of the Communist system, Blessed Titus Zeman’s ideal. He was a man persecuted and tortured in arrested because he helped seminar- prison by Stalin’s investigators.” ians and priests to flee the country so as to live their apostolic ideal. National celebration of Slo- His imprisonment was transformed vak martyr into a sacrifice of redemption for others.” Blessed Titus’s beatification cere- mony was attended by about 25,000 On the following day, October 1, people, including Slovak Cardinal there was a celebration in Vajno- Jozef Tomko, 25 bishops and the ry, the section of Bratislava where apostolic nuncio, about 500 priests, Blessed Titus was born on January 200 seminarians, the Rector Ma- 4, 1915, and where he died. Fr. An- jor (Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime), gel Fernandez, the Salesian Rector the postulator general (Fr. Pierluigi Major, preached the homily at this Poster promoting the beatification program. INTOUCH • October 15, 2017 2 The new blessed’s relics were en- cased in a small, coffin-like casket designed by two Slovak artists, An- drei Botek and Marian Kralik. The façade of the casket includes two sculpted reliefs showing Fr. Zeman leading a clandestine escape party and the moment of his capture. Blessed Titus’s memorial will be observed on January 8, his dies na- talis (“heavenly birthday”). Following his Salesian vocation The reliquary-casket with Fr. Zeman’s remains, fol- As early as age ten, Titus Zeman lowing its blessing. (ANS) wanted to become a priest. He stud- ied with the Salesians at Sastin and made his profession on August 6, group’s attempt to cross the Mora- Fr. Zeman faced the death penalty 1932. He began theological at the va River into Austria was foiled during his trial but in February 1952 Gregorian University in Rome and by a border guard, and most of the was sentenced instead to 25 years finished in Chieri. He was ordained group, including Fr. Zeman, were in prison. With his health ruined by in Turin on June 23, 1940, and re- captured. (Bro. Pestun was one who torture and harsh conditions, he was turned to Slovakia, which had de- got away.) paroled to Vajnory in March 1964, clared independence and allied itself and during the “Prague Spring” of with Germany during World War II. A section of the Salesian Slo- 1968 was finally given permission Nevertheless, he was able to exer- vak webpage on Fr. Zeman called to celebrate Mass again. He died of cise his Salesian ministry first at the “Saved by Titus“ records the names heart failure, however, on January 8, youth center in Bratislava, then as a and history of many of those whom 1969. parish priest, and finally as a chem- he assisted to get away. Of interest istry and biology teacher in Trnava. to New Rochelle Province Salesians The entire country took up Fr. Ze- is that one of them was Bro. Jozef man. In April of this year a pil- Reunited after the war, Czechoslo- Hercog (sic). grimage of 200 altar servers came vakia suffered a Communist coup in to Sastin, where Blessed Titus had 1948 and became a Stalinist satel- Captured, tortured, killed once been an altar boy, to celebrate lite. In April 1950 the government slowly “Titus, one of us.” A hymn was ordered that all religious be round- composed by Slovak poet Daniel ed up in the dead of night. Many of them were sent to concentration camps. Fr. Zeman happened to be away from the Salesian house for Easter services and so evaded the round-up. He decided to go under- ground to help his young confreres who weren’t in camps to escape to Turin to complete their studies. He led successful escape parties to- taling more than 60 Salesians in August and October 1950. A third The website set up by the Slovak Salesians to promote information about Blessed Titus. INTOUCH • October 15, 2017 3 Some of the Salesians whom Fr. Zeman led to freedom. (tituszeman.sk/) Hevier in honor of the holy mar- tion, he said: “He joins the long line sanctity, as a faithful Salesian total- tyr. A biography titled Beyond the of martyrs of the 20th century.... His ly in love with the Church and the River, Toward Salvation: Titus Ze- testimony supports us in the most priesthood, and as a zealous apostle man, Martyr for Vocations, was difficult moments of life and helps of vocations. published in both Slovak and Italian us recognize, even in hardship, the versions. Festivals and conferences presence of the Lord.” Many people who knew Fr. Titus were held in Bratislava, Trnava, offered their testimony about his and elsewhere, and TV and radio The witness of Blessed Ti- character, dedication, and courage, specials were aired. The Slovak tus’s life and ministry even before the events that led to his bishops issued a pastoral letter re- martyrdom. One of his students de- garding him in September. As not- Fr. Fernandez addressed a short let- scribed him as “my spiritual father.” ed above, hundreds of clergy par- ter to the entire Salesian Family to Another calls him “simple-hearted, ticipated in the beatification Mass, mark the beatification, highlight- very funny, and a great sportsman.” which was broadcast nationally. ing Fr. Zeman as a fruit of Salesian He helped hide Jews during World The Salesians organized a master- ful webpage with multiple language options: www.tituszeman.sk, which includes an hour-long documentary film, I Passed the Border (with Eng- lish subtitles): https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=2HbvlZSgq4w. On May 30, Fr. Jozef Slivon of the postulator’s office concelebrated Pope Francis’s Mass and then pre- sented him with a relic of Fr. Zeman and a copy of the just-published bi- ography. The Holy Father kissed the relic and sent his blessing to every- one involved. In his Angelus mes- Altar servers who took part in a pilgrimage to celebrate sage on the day after the beatifica- the upcoming beatification of a former altar boy. (tituszeman.sk/) INTOUCH • October 15, 2017 4 War II and hide nuns when the Red Army advanced through Slovakia. A Salesian student of theology re- marked on how he helped clean up their school after the Russians left it full of excrement and stinking like a sewer: “I saw there his great love and tenacity for his work. He was a true Salesian who did everything in a humble way. It was clear he liked us, the young students of theology, a lot. He saw us as the hope for the Salesian Congregation in Slovakia.” Fr.