50 young French martyrs murdered by Nazis beatified in Notre Dame Cathedral

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 16, 2025 / 10:00 am

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, archbishop of Luxembourg, celebrated in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Dec. 13 the Mass of beatification for 50 young martyrs who were murdered by the Nazis out of hatred for the Catholic faith during World War II.

In an apostolic letter he sent to the French capital, Pope Leo XIV established that the feast day of the 50 new blessed martyrs, belonging to about 30 French dioceses, will be May 5, 2026.

“Raymond Cayré, priest; Gérard-Martin Cendrier, of the Order of Friars Minor; Roger Vallé, seminarian; Jean Mestre, layman; and 46 companions were beatified in Paris. They were killed in hatred of the faith in 1944-45 during the Nazi occupation,” Pope Leo XIV said after the Angelus on the third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday).

“Let us praise the Lord for these martyrs, courageous witnesses to the Gospel, persecuted and killed for remaining close to their people and faithful to the Church!” the Holy Father said, recalling that on Dec. 13, 124 martyrs were also beatified in Spain.

Light in the midst of the ‘dark century of terrible carnage’

“The first half of the 20th century will go down in European history as the dark century of terrible carnage. To the victims of the two world wars, the soldiers, are added the victims of the Nazi dictatorship. But in this darkness, there are points of light, and even now we can identify names and faces associated with some of these points of light,” Hollerich said in his homily, as reported by the Archdiocese of Paris.

“They had an immense love for God, for Christ. This love compelled them to serve their brothers and sisters who had been sent to forced labor in Germany. Indeed, there can be no love of God without love of one’s neighbor,” the Jesuit cardinal continued, referring to the more than 1 million French people sent to Nazi factories and labor camps.

The new blesseds, the archbishop continued, were “these young Catholics — priests, religious, seminarians, Catholic Action activists, and Scouts — all answered the call of Cardinal [Emmanuel Célestin] Suhard [then-archbishop of Paris] and Father Jean Rodhain.”

“Most of them were between 20 and 35 years old, and, along with so many other anonymous apostles, they understood the spiritual and moral distress of 1.5 million young French workers deported to Germany, now without any religious guidance, since German priests were forbidden to minister to them,” Hollerich noted.

“They were truly ‘Martyrs of the Apostolate.’ Their lives and their work in the service of their brothers and sisters were a trial crowned by the sacrifice of martyrdom,” he emphasized.

With their service of love and mercy, the cardinal continued, these martyrs “in the hell of the concentration camps, succeeded in creating oases of paradise, where love managed to restore courage, heal the wounds of the heart, overcome indifference, and convey serenity and peace.”

One of them, the young Scout Joël Anglès d’Auriac, who was beheaded at the age of 22 on Dec. 6, 1944, after going to confession, receiving Communion, and praying the rosary, told the prison chaplain: “I am completely at peace … for I am going to Jesus Christ.”

Another young man, Jean Mestre, decided against requesting an exemption from the Nazi’s Compulsory Labor Service for the war effort in Germany and told his mother of his decision in this way: “I love you with all my heart, but I love Jesus Christ even more than you, and I feel that he is calling me to be his witness to my fellow workers who are going through difficult times. Forgive me if I am hurting you.”

A message for young people today

Hollerich said that all these martyrs remind us that “whatever our vocation, our profession, or our responsibilities, we are committed, as disciples of Christ, to serving our brothers and sisters wherever God, in his providence, has placed us.”

“The Nazis, on the other hand, despised religious freedom. While forced to respect it in Germany, they revealed their true nature in the occupied territories. The love of our martyrs for Christ and for the people they helped made them martyrs for religious freedom,” he continued.

“Perhaps this point will be an important testimony for us regarding the future of the Church in Europe. Faith is never a private matter; it must find expression in concrete service to our sisters and brothers,” the Jesuit cardinal emphasized.

“Following in the footsteps of our martyrs, let us strive to be faithful disciples of Christ, the Prince of Peace, and let us ask those whom we celebrate today to obtain for us the grace to live our faith,” he said.

Prayer for the canonization of the new blesseds

At the conclusion of the Mass, those present were given a prayer card with a prayer approved by the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, to ask the Lord for the intercession of the new blesseds and for their canonization:

Lord our God,

You granted to the blessed martyrs of the Catholic apostolate

To be inspired by the ardent desire to accompany and serve their brothers

who were conscripted for Compulsory Labor Service in Germany.

Rather than saving their lives, they answered your call

and chose to imitate Christ, who became a servant,

even to the point of following him in the sacrifice of the Cross.

Deign, O Lord, to glorify our blessed martyrs

and grant me, through their intercession,

the grace [state the grace requested] that I implore with confidence,

through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Note: People who receive graces through the intercession of the blessed martyrs are invited to write to the postulator of their cause, Father Bernard Ardura, at Viale Giotto, 27, 00153 Rome – Italy.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.