Blessed Theodore Romzha

Life story

Theodore was born on 14 April 1911 in Nagybocskó (now Velykyi Bychkiv) in Transcarpathia, then part of Austria-Hungary. He studied philosophy and theology in Rome, was ordained a priest on 25 December 1936, and worked in pastoral ministry and, from 1939, in teaching at the Uzhhorod seminary. On 24 September 1944, aged 33, he was consecrated bishop and took charge of the Greek Catholic eparchy of Mukachevo.

Only weeks later the Red Army occupied Transcarpathia. The Soviet authorities wanted to force the Greek Catholic Church into union with the Russian Orthodox Church. He refused to give in to this pressure and repeatedly defended clergy and faithful who were being harassed. With the other dioceses, this Church was officially banned in 1949, two years after his death.

On 27 October 1947 his carriage was rammed by a military vehicle; he was beaten and badly injured and taken to hospital in Mukachevo. He died there around midnight between 31 October and 1 November 1947; the Vatican biography gives 1 November. Church accounts say a nurse injected him with poison on Soviet security orders; this is not fully proven by independent evidence. Pope John Paul II beatified him on 27 June 2001 in Lviv. His memorial is 31 October.

Works and witness

• Ordained a priest in 1936
• Consecrated bishop of Mukachevo in 1944 at age 33
• Refused to be absorbed into the Russian Orthodox Church
• Attacked by a military vehicle on 27 October 1947
• Beatified on 27 June 2001

Saints from the same country

Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych, Blessed Omelyan Kovch, Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky, Venerable Andrey Sheptytsky

References

• Pope John Paul II, beatification of 27 June 2001, Lviv (Vatican)
• Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, biography of Bishop Theodore Romzha
• Martyrologium Romanum

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.