Saint of the Day: Bl. Josef Mayr-Nusser

Martyr (1910-1945)

His life

+ Josef was born to a pious farm family in Bolzano, Italy. 

+ As a young man, he was devoted to Saint Vincent de Paul and Blessed Frederic Ozanam and, inspired by their example, he became a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1932. In 1937, he became presider of the Society’s Bozano division. 

+ Beyond his direct care for the poor, Josef became a vocal advocate for them and was a member of Catholic Action.

+ Josef joined an anti-Nazi group—the Andreas Hofer Bund—in 1939. 

+ He married Hildegard Straub on May 26, 1942; the couple welcomed a son, Alberto, in 1943.

+ In 1944, Josef was drafted into the German army. On October 4, he announced that his faith prevented him from taking the oath of loyalty and obedience to Hitler, declaring, “Major-General I cannot take an oath to Hitler in the name of God. I cannot do it… because my faith and my conscience do not allow it.”

+ Josef was imprisoned for his opposition and beliefs and was sentenced to be executed in the Dachau concentration camp; he died of dysentery on a train on route to the concentration camp on February 24, 1945. 

+ Blessed Josef Mayr-Nusser was beatified in 2017. He has come to be martyred as the “Martyr of the First Commandment” because of his unwillingness to put another person—however powerful—before God. 

For prayer and reflection: 

“He died a martyr because he refused to adhere to Nazism out of faith to the Gospel. For his great moral and spiritual standing, he constitutes a model for faithful lay people.”—Pope Francis

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember Blessed Marco De’Marconi. A religious brother in the now-extinct Order of Hermits of St. Jerome, he was known for intense dedication to prayer. He died at the age of thirty in 1510. Devotion to Blessed Marco was confirmed by Pope Saint Pius X in 1906.  

Prayer

Almighty and merciful God, who brought your Martyr blessed Josef to overcome the torments of his passion, grant that we, who celebrate the day of his triumph, may remain invincible under your protection against the snares of the enemy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs)
Saint profiles prepared by Father Silas Henderson, S.D.S.