Ioan Suciu (December 4, 1907 – June 27, 1953) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church, born into a clerical family in

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; hu, Balázsfalva; german: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a municipiu, city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabita ...

. He studied in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy first at

Sant'Atanasio The Church of Saint Athanasius ( it, Sant’Atanasio, la, S. Athanasii), also known as Sant'Atanasio dei Greci (, ''Ekklisia Agiou Athanasiou ton Ellinon''), is a Greek Catholic titular church located on Via del Babuino 149, near the Spanish step ...

and then at the ''Pontificium Institutum Internationale Angelicum'', the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'' where after six years of study he received a Doctorate in Sacred Theology on 29 November 1931, and was ordained to the priesthood. He was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...

in 1940. Arrested in 1948 by the authorities of the new

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

that outlawed the church, he was taken first to

Dragoslavele Dragoslavele is a commune in the northern part of Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania, located by the former border between Wallachia and Transylvania, on the Wallachian side. It is a relatively important location for boarding house tourism. The com ...

Monastery, then to . He was eventually sent to the notorious

Sighet Prison The Sighet prison, located in the city of Sighetu Marmației, Maramureș County, Romania, was used by Romania to hold criminals, prisoners of war, and political prisoners. It is now the site of the Sighet Memorial Museum, part of the Memorial ...

, where he died of illness. Streets are named after him in

and Satu Mare. On June 2, 2019, Suciu and six other Romanian prelates were beatified by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

Câmpia Libertății Câmpia Libertății (''The Field of Liberty'') is located in the city of Blaj, in Transylvania, Romania. It was the place where two national assemblies were held during the 1848 Revolution, the first one in May, and the second one in September. ...

in Blaj.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suciu, Ioan 1907 births 1953 deaths People from Blaj Romanian Greek-Catholic bishops Romanian beatified people Romanian anti-communist clergy Prisoners who died in Securitate custody Inmates of Sighet prison Romanian people who died in prison custody Beatifications by Pope Francis Eastern Catholic bishops in Romania Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni