SW News: The Catholic Church has beatified a Polish Catholic family of nine who were martyred by the Nazis for providing refuge to Jewish families during World War II. The Ulma family, comprising Józef Ulma, Wiktoria Ulma, and their seven children, met their tragic end in Markowa, southeastern Poland, on March 24, 1944. Their execution was ordered by the Nazi authorities after they discovered that the Ulma family had been harboring two Jewish families. Wiktoria was pregnant with her seventh child when she was brutally murdered.

Thousands of faithful participated in the beatification Mass, which took place in Markowa on Sunday, September 10. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, delivered the homily at the beatification Mass and said, "In the testimony and martyrdom of the Ulma family and their children, we rediscover the greatness of the family, a place of life, love, and fertility. We rediscover the greatness of the mission that the Creator entrusted to the spouses.”


The cardinal also specifically remembered the seventh baby who lost its life. “Although it did not have a name yet, today we call it the Blessed One,” he said. According to the Associated Press, a painting depicting the Ulma family was unveiled during the ceremony.