Father and teacher Brandsma canonized: that’s how it goes

Why was it canonized?

Brandsma was a fierce opponent of National Socialism. When the NSB wanted to place advertisements in Catholic newspapers in 1941, Brandsma went to every newsroom to strongly disagree. Shortly afterwards, Brandsma was arrested by the Germans. He was imprisoned in camp Amersfoort and deported to Dachau concentration camp. Other monks were imprisoned there. Brandsma died on July 26, 1942, a few weeks after his arrival.

The Catholic Church considers Titus Brandsma a martyr because he had to pay the price with death for his resistance to National Socialism. He was beaten in 1985. It takes a miracle directly attributed to Brandsma to later become a saint. The Vatican has decided that this is the case with the medically inexplicable recovery of American father and priest Michael Driscoll.

When Driscoll got skin cancer in 2004, he prayed for his recovery through the intercession of Titus Brandsma. He recovered unexpectedly and the disease did not return. The Vatican considers this a miracle that Titus Brandsma attended.

How does such a canonization work?

The Catholic Church has spent years investigating the potential miracle to determine whether someone can be canonized. If the Pope concludes that a miracle has occurred, the path to sanctification is clear.

Titus Brandsma and nine others will be blessed today during a special ceremony on Sint Pietersplein. The last Dutchman to experience this was the Limburg father Karel Houben in 2007.

On St. Peter’s Square, banners depict the faces of Titus Brandsma and nine other new saints. Bishops from all over the world, including three from the Netherlands, are present at the ceremony.

At least two hundred Dutch pilgrims also went to Rome for the ceremony. During Mass, the Pope will read a proclamation concluding that he “identifies Titus Brandsma as a saint” and “orders that Titus Brandsma be honored with devotion throughout the Church”.

Holy, what happened?

Once a person has been made holy, believers can pray through that person’s intercession. This means that if they pray to God, they can ask the saint to “put in a good word” with God for them. The Catholic Church says that saints are close to God.

Some saints are honored as guardians of a particular city or profession. Because Titus Brandsma was against National Socialism and freedom of the press, an international group of more than 60 journalists begged to make him the patron saint of journalism, but nothing has been decided yet.