Titus Brandsma: witness of peace in a time of war

Titus Brandsma: witness of peace in a time of war

Rome \Vatican [ENA] Today a man who embodied the values of free journalism until his death has become a catholic Saint : the Dutch Carmelite father Titus Brandsma (1881 - 1942). In 2018 Pope Francis invited journalists, with clear words, 'to promote a journalism of peace', a 'journalism without pretense, hostile to falsehoods, to effective slogans and bombastic statements; a journalism made by people for people, and which is understood

as a service to all people, (...) a journalism committed to indicating alternative solutions to the escalation of clamor and verbal violence '. Four Catholic journalists from Holland and Belgium have asked with an open letter to Pope Francis that Saint Titus Brandsma be the patron of journalism or the co-patron together with the current patron Francis de Sales, undoubtedly a holy man of faith with great merits, but that was not a journalist in the modern sense of the word. https://www.nd.nl/geloof/katholiekinside/1123789/read-the-open-letter-from-journalists-to-pope-francis-here More than sixty journalists from international newspapers and agencies have signed the appeal, as well as an association of journalists made up of 520 members.

Titus Brandsma was born in the Netherlands on February 23, 1881. His baptismal name was Anno Sjoerd. Between 1892 and 1898 Anno Sjoerd attended the Franciscan gymnasium of Megen, in North Brabant and wished to join the Franciscans, but was not accepted due to his poor health, which would not have allowed him to endure the harshness of Franciscan life. He then turned to the Carmelites, who accepted him: on 22 September 1898 he entered the novitiate of Boxmeer. On June 17, 1905, at the age of 24, he was ordained a priest in the cathedral of Den Bosch, in Brabant. He was then sent to Rome, to the International College of Sant’Alberto, where he remained for three years, from 1906 until 1909.

He attended the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical Gregorian University and also attended courses in sociology at the Leonian Institute. In the meantime he continued his collaboration with some Dutch newspapers and magazines. On 25 October 1909 he was able to pass the doctoral exam. Returning to Holland, he began teaching philosophy and mathematics in the Carmelite studentate of Oss, where he remained from 1909 to 1923. In 1912 he founded the periodical Karmelrozen (which later became Speling) and in 1918 he began the publication, in several volumes, of the works of Saint Teresa in Dutch. From 1919 to 1923 he was editor-in-chief of the newspaper De Stad Oss (The city of Oss).

In 1923 he became professor of philosophy and history of mysticism at the newly formed Catholic University of Nijmegen, where he remained until 1942. In the academic year 1932-1933 he was elected Rector Magnificent of the same university and was appointed ecclesiastical assistant of the Association of Catholic Journalists, with the task of following about thirty newspapers. It was on that occasion that the Titus Brandsma obtained the international journalist card. He also traveled to Ireland and the United States, where he lectured on Carmelite spirituality and tradition. Father Titus was meek man of brotherhood, capable of listening. He showed particular availability towards the students and was always ready to help anyone in need.

Between 1938 and 1939 he held courses within his University, criticizing the pagan and anti-human approach of National Socialist ideology, of which he had well understood the danger. Meanwhile, the war, which began in September 1939 with the invasion of Poland, also turned to the west: on May 10, 1940, Hitler's troops invaded Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. On January 26, 1941, the Dutch Church, through its bishops, reacted firmly against the Nazi provisions. Archbishop Johannes De Jong, in an interview with the Blessed, said he was concerned about the situation of the Catholic press, forced to publish proclamations issued by the occupation government, in clear contrast to Christian morality.

For this reason, in the first ten days of January 1942, Father Titus traveled around Holland by train, visiting the editorial offices of Catholic newspapers, to bring the indications of the episcopate and encourage the editors to resist Nazi pressure. His Exc. Archbishop De Jong later declared that the religious was well aware of the danger to which he was exposing himself. As soon as he returned to Nijmegen, he held his last lesson at the university. On his way back to the convent, he was arrested. On January 20, 1942, he was taken to Scheveningen prison, where he remained until March 12.

When questioned about his activity and the reasons for his opposition to Nazism, Father Titus frankly reiterated his positions, even writing nine pages of memorial. The minutes of that interrogation, kept by the officer in charge, a secularized priest, were precious material in the Cause of Blessed Brandsma. In prison he was able to keep two books with him: the life of Saint Teresa of Jesus written by Kwalkman (Het leven van heiligen Theresia, 1908) and Jezus by Cyriel Verschaeve (1939). Father Titus decided to spend the time of his imprisonment writing the life of Saint Teresa, as he would have liked since his youth and he had never been able to do because of too many commitments. In the absence of paper, he used the book

on the life of Jesus writing, between the lines of his printed copy, of the Saint of Avila’s life. A diary of the days spent in Scheveningen also remains, entitled My cell. He also wrote the prayer Before the image of Jesus.  On 12 March he was taken to the Amersfoort penal camp, where he remained until 28 April, forced to work and live in extremely harsh conditions. On 16 May he was taken back to Scheveningen for an additional interrogation, which lasted until 13 June. From Scheveningen he was transferred to the Kleve sorting camp in Germany and found some relief there from the suffering he suffered in Amersfoort. In fact, in Kleve he was able to attend Mass and had spiritual talks with the camp chaplain.

The attempts of the superiors, who tried to transform Father Brandsma's sentence into a forced domicile, to be served in a German convent, were useless. On June 13, the long train journey began and took Titus Brandsma through Cologne, Frankfurt and Nuremberg to the Dachau camp. Most of the inmates fell ill due to poor hygienic conditions and the inhuman rigor of life and work. The camp hospital was in fact only an antechamber of the crematorium.

There were also carried out experiments of a "medical" nature, which had prisoners as guinea pigs, especially those with disabilities and the weakest. From 19 June to 18 July 1942, Father Titus was in block 28, where numerous religious and priests were gathered. On 18 July he entered the camp hospital, known as Revier, and remained there until Sunday 26 July. That day, at 2 pm, he was killed by an injection of carbolic acid. Shortly before his death, the Titus Brandsma had given the nurse who was killing him his own rosary, made for him by an inmate.

The woman, a young Dutch girl infatuated with Nazi ideology, told him she did not know how to pray and Father Titus replied that to do so she would have only to say: "Pray for us sinners". She then converted to Catholicism and, during the process for the beatification and canonization, gave her precious testimony on the last hours of Titus Brandsma's life. The body of Titus Brandsma, like that of thousands of other deceased prisoners, was cremated in the incinerators of the Dachau camp.