The saints have their time - the beatification of the Ulma family

Wiktoria and Józef Ulma are not only the first Polish couple to be beatified, but also the first couple in the history of the Church to be beatified along with their seven children. - Worth noticing the unprecedented decision to beatify the new-born child. The situation is reminiscent of the biblical description of the martyrdom of the holy youngsters, that is, the infants in Bethlehem whom Herod ordered to be killed - stresses Fr. Prof. Marek Chmielewski of the Department of Systematic and Practical Spirituality at the Catholic University of Lublin.

The beatification of the nine-member family of Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma, murdered in March 1944 for helping Jews, will take place in Markowa in the Podkarpacie region on Sunday, September 10. Along with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the Mass will be concelebrated by nearly 1,000 priests, 80 cardinals and bishops from Poland and abroad. More than 32,000 faithful have registered their willingness to participate in the ceremony. Announced his participation, among others, the Chief Rabbi of Poland. Representatives of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin will assist  in the ceremony.

Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma and their children Stanislawa, Barbara, Wladyslaw, Franciszek, Antoni, Maria and the new-born will be proclaimed blessed. This beatification, described as "in many ways unprecedented” - draws attention of  the entire world.

Along the lines of martyrdom

For the first time in a single act, the whole family will be elevated to the glory of the altars, not as its individual members. Recently there have  been simultaneous beatifications of spouses such as Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quatrocchi (Oct. 21, 2001), or Louis and Zelia Martin, parents of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. The latter were beatified by Pope Benedict XVI (Oct. 18, 2008) and canonised by Pope Francis (Oct. 19, 2015). The beatification processes of the Martin couple proceeded separately. In the case of the Ulmas, we are dealing with the beatification not only of the spouses, but of the whole family, regarding which there was one process following the line of martyrdom. - ‘We have 269 blessed and 72 saints of Poles or connected with Poland, belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, among whom are lay people living in marriage. However, these are individuals’ - says Fr. Prof. Chmielewski.

The death under heart

At the time of the execution, Victoria Ulma was highly pregnant. The executioners murdered everyone, regardless of age, including children, and among them there was the one the woman carried under her heart. It was accepted to speak of it as “unborn”, although de facto at the time Victoria was shot, the birth action was already underway. In such a state, the born child died in the mother's birth canal. 

- The situation is reminiscent of the biblical description of the martyrdom of the Holy Mourners, or infants in Bethlehem, whom Herod ordered to kill in hope that among them there might be the Newborn Messiah, considered by him to be a dangerous competitor. Although the Ulma baby was not baptised, its moral sanctity is obvious, explains Rev. Prof. Marek Chmielewski.

The theologian explains that since the older siblings were baptised and raised in deep Catholic spirit, surely the next child would also participate in the living faith of his parents. This has to do with the so-called "baptism of blood," through which those not yet formally baptised, but already on the path of faith and suffering death because of it, access the glory of heaven.

Outstanding spouses

According to witnesses' accounts and collected source documents, the Ulma family was not an average one. Jozef was a farmer, the owner of a several-hectare farm, raised silkworms and ran an apiary. He was socially active and creative. His passion was photography - he documented the life not only of his family, but also of the villagers. It also regarded to Victoria, who attended a course at the People's University in a neighbouring village and even played roles in an amateur theater. However, not only involvement in civic activities united the couple. Both were deep believers. Today they are referred to as the "Samaritans of Markowa."

They gave shelter to eight Jews in their own modest and small home as they were rooted in Christian values and living according to them, which in the case of the Ulmas was seen in a conscious attitude of fidelity to the basic Christian commandment of love of God and neighbour, by virtue of which for more than a year and a half, selflessly and in full awareness of the consequences threatened by the Germans. - The Ulmas matured into such a heroic attitude of Christian mercy through their deep spiritual life including their children. This is evidenced both by the witnesses to their lives and by the objects they left behind, especially in the Scriptures they read every day. Embedded within their family Bible a word was underlined: “Samaritan”. It seems that this biblical scene was particularly moving to the Ulmas - notes Rev. Prof. Chmielewski.

Model of a family

What dimension  can this beatification have for the Church today? Certainly, it contributes to the promotion of the beauty and importance of marriage and big family life, which in the  situation of current demographic collapse in Poland and Europe takes on particular significance. The Ulmas are an excellent example of what the life of Polish families should be like. The elevation to the glory of the altars of a child born under conditions of crime shows the value of life - from the moment of conception to natural death. From a social point of view, the beatification can also lead to building and strengthening reconciliation and fraternity between Christians and Jews as "elder brothers in the faith," as well as the discovery and, above all, the consolidation before the world of the historical truth about the criminal activities of Nazi Germany against the Polish and Jewish people. The murder of the Ulmas was not carried out by some unspecified Nazis, but by specific functionaries, well known by name.

As already mentioned, about 30,000 people will come to Markowa - a village of about 4,000 inhabitants - for the beatification on September 10 this year. Taking into account the television, radio and Internet broadcasts, as well as the presence of the highest state authorities with the President of Poland, the Chief Rabbi of Poland and a high delegation from Israel, the beatification of the Ulma family will indeed be an exceptional event.

The Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on September 5 issued an announcement concerning the upcoming beatification of the Ulma family:
As for the information recently widely spread in media regarding the martyrdom of the Ulma family, whose beatification rite will be celebrated on September 10, 2023, in Markowa, Poland, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints specifies the following:

1. At the time of the murder, Mrs. Wiktoria Ulma was heavily pregnant with her seventh child.
2. This child was born at the time of the mother's martyrdom.
3. Thus, it was added to the ranks of child martyrs. For in the martyrdom of the parents it received a "blood baptism".