Hungarian Martyr Beatified
Sister Sara Salkahazi Helped Jews
BUDAPEST, Hungary, September 17, 2006
Sister Sara Salkahazi, a nun shot to death for sheltering Jews in Hungary during World War II, was beatified in Budapest on September 17, 2006.
The beatification was conducted by Cardinal Peter Erdo, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and president of the Hungarian Episcopal conference. The ceremony took place at St. Stephen's Basilica.
In April, Benedict XVI signed a decree on Sister Salkahazi's martyrdom, a document paving the way for her beatification.
A member of the Sisters of Social Service, a charity organization helping the poor, the woman religious was a journalist, a writer and a cultural activist. She helped to shelter hundreds of Jews, including many women and children, in a convent in the final months of the war.
She was reported to the authorities, and henchmen of the ruling fascist Arrow Cross Party drove her and the people she had sheltered to the banks of the Danube River and shot them on Dec. 27, 1944.
The Sisters of Social Service saved more than 1,000 lives during the war.
Cardinal Erdo, the primate of Hungary, said in reaction to the Pope's decision: "I believe that in the year of the nation's spiritual renewal, the Holy Father could not give a more beautiful gift to the Church, and also to the whole of Hungarian society." (for more information see Cardinal Peter Erdo's Interview before the beatification and excerpts of his homily at the beatification).
Sister Sara website
Photos taken at the Beatification in Hungary
St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary. Site of Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006
Cardinal Erdo presides at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Bishops from all over Hungary travelled to concelebrate at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Congregation at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Sisters of the Social Service representatives from all over the world formed part of the congregation at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Sisters of the Social Service at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Icon of Sister Sara Salkahazi being carried to its place at her Beatification, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Icon of Sister Sara Salkahazi at her Beatification, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Part of the crowd of 20,000 at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Proclamation at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006,St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Archbishop Erdo greets a Jewish rabbi at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006,St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary. Sister Sara was shot in 1945 for sheltering Jews from the Nazis.
Relic of Sister Sara Salkahazi at her Beatification, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Unveiling of large photo of Sister Sara Salkahazi outside St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary. Sept 17, 2006
Procession of Cardinal Erdo and Hungarian Bishops at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
An estimated 20,000 people attended the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006, St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary.
Outside St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest Hungary at the Beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, Sept 17, 2006.
Sisters of Social Service sharing stories. Budapest Hungary, Sept 17, 2006.
Sister Claire from L.A., Sister Agnes from Budapest and Sister Kathleen from Toronto. Sisters of the Social Service gathered Sept 17, 2006 in Budapest Hungary for the beatification of Sister Sara Salkhazi.
Roses tossed into the Danube River in Budapest where Sister Sara Salkahazi was shot and her body thrown in 1945. The Beatification of Sister Sara took place Sept 17, 2006, Budapest Hungary.
