Blessed Jakob Gapp (1897-1943)

Born in Austria, he served as a solider in World War I with the Austrian army. After the war he joined the Marianists and was ordained in 1930. As a priest he taught in Marianist schools and ministered in parishes. In 1938, as the Germans annexed Austria, Father Gapp preached against Nazism. “God is your God,” he told his people, “not Adolf Hitler.” His preaching forced him to leave Austria, and he was sent to work in France and Spain. While in Spain in 1942, he received word of two people across the border in France who claimed to be Jews fleeing from Nazis in Berlin, and who wanted instruction in Catholicism. When he crossed into France to minster to him, the Gestapo abducted him. He was brought to Berlin, and in July 1943 he was condemned to death for speaking against the German Reich. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1996. (Adapted from Saints.sqpn.com)