On 24 March 1944, nine members of the Catholic Ulma family, including seven children, were murdered by the Nazis in the small village of Markowa, Poland.
Along with the Ulma family, eight Jewish people from three families were also shot. The Ulmas had sheltered them from the Nazis since 1942. When the Nazis discovered them, the entire household was massacred.
The Ulma family is now set to be beatified by the Catholic Church at a ceremony in Markowa, presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro. Unusually, the unborn baby, known only as the “seventh child”, will also be beatified.
The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints stated that “at the time of the massacre, Mrs. Wiktoria Ulma was in a state of advanced pregnancy with her seventh child… In the martyrdom of his parents he received the baptism of blood…
“[Parents] Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, being absolutely aware of the risks, sacrificed their lives to save Jewish people in need. Their heroic attitude is a testimony that love is stronger than death.”
One thousand clergymen are expected to attend the beatification ceremony this Sunday.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “Sunday’s unprecedented beatification of an unborn baby affirms the innate value and sanctity of all unborn children. While the ‘seventh child’ has no name, this precious life represents all those nameless unborn lives cruelly snatched away before birth.
“Even in death, the sacrifice of the Ulmas was life-affirming, standing up for the right to life of the Jews they sheltered from the Nazis, an evil regime that only knew how to kill.
“The pro-life position, conversely, is ultimately founded on love, a love of life, the individual and all things that are good. That is what we will celebrate on Sunday.”
