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In the darkest of times, light still was able to shine. Such was the case of Bl. Karl Leisner, a German deacon who quickly became a target of the Nazi regime.
According to a short biography featured in L'Osservatore Romano in 1996, "He studied theology in the Diocese of Munster and tried to establish Catholic youth groups, but since the Nazis sought to control all youth work, he had to take teenagers on 'camping' excursions to Belgium and the Netherlands, where they could freely discuss the Church's teaching."
In many ways his work was similar to that of St. John Paul II, who would conduct "camping" trips during the Soviet occupation of Poland.
It didn't take long for the Nazis to send Leisner to compulsory work, in hopes of breaking down his resolve. Yet, this only made Leisner more committed to his Catholic faith. He would organize "Sunday Mass attendance for his fellow workers."
Ordained at Dachau
He was eventually arrested for his opposition to Hitler and sent to the consecration camp at Dachau. It was there that he would be ordained a priest:
Ordained a deacon by Bishop von Galen in 1939, he was interned first in Freiburg and later in Mannheim and Sachsenhausen for having criticized Hitler. On December 14, 1941, he was transferred to the concentration camp of Dachau, where, on Gaudete Sunday, December 17, 1944, he was secretly ordained a priest by French Bishop Gabriel Piquet, who had been admitted to the camp with the help of local religious authorities. He was so ill that he had to postpone his first Mass for over a week.
Leisner was able to survive until the end of the war, but died shortly afterwards from the effects of the treatment he received at Dachau:
St. John Paul II saw him as a heroic man and beatified him in 1996. He said at his beatification, "The courage of his faith and his enthusiasm for Christ must be a stimulus and model especially for young people, who live in an environment characterized by disbelief and indifference. It is not only political dictators who limit freedom; there is an equal need for strength and courage to oppose the sucking of the spirit of the time, which is oriented towards the consumption and selfish enjoyment of life or, on occasion, casts complacent glances towards hostility to the Church, or even militant atheism."
Bl. Karl Leisner remains an inspiration to all people and shows us the need to stand firm in our faith, no matter what might happen.
