The Catholic Church recently honored a devout Polish family that sheltered Jews during World War II. The church bestowed upon the Ulma family the unprecedented recognition of beatification – a step toward sainthood.
The Ulma family, consisting of Józef and Wiktoria and their six children, helped Jewish community members escape Nazi persecution. In a powerfully moral move, they offered shelter to those fleeing from certain death and for their bravery and dedication to preserving life, even at their own risk, the Ulma family gave their lives.
The process for beatification spanned more than two decades, initiated in 1995, and coming to its conclusion with the announcement of the Ulma family on August 13th, 2020 by Pope Francis.
The momentous occasion of the Ulmas’ beatification is a reminder of the importance of selfless acts and of the power of unconditional love. The Ulmas’ brave acts helped to bring justice, both in life and in death, to those in need of help and of mercy. Jewish leaders around the world are hailing the Ulma family’s recognition as an example of Christian-Jewish relations that override prejudice and hostility.
At the beatification ceremony in the small Polish village of Markowa, demonstrations of solidarity and respect took place between Jewish and Catholic pilgrims from Poland and around the world. Hundreds of Polish Catholic faithful from the area came to honor them. The well-known religious man, Father Józef Tischner, said “Accepting other people means accepting those who differ from us, accepting in a different religion, different convictions, different race and different origin.
By commemorating the Ulma family and honoring them with the recognition of beatification, this unique and extraordinary moment in history is being preserved. The courage of those who take a stand against injustice ought to live on, inspiring future generations to continue to fight prejudice and inequality, that their heroic acts will not have been in vain.
