Waldemar Maximilian Nestor (12 December 1888 – 27 July 1941) was the first Roman Catholic priest known to have been murdered in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. The Holy See started the process of beatification on 21 December 2014 of Nestor and three other priests of the Diocese of Banja Luka who were murdered during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Juraj Gospodnetić The Reverend Juraj Gospodnetić (9 January 1910 – 27 July 1941) was a Croatian Roman Catholic priest who was tortured and murdered by Chetniks during the Bosansko Grahovo massacre. The Holy See started the process of beatification of Father Gosp ...

, Antun Dujlović and Krešimir Barišić.

Life

Waldemar Maximilian Nestor was born in

Groß Strehlitz Strzelce Opolskie (german: Groß Strehlitz, szl, Wielge Strzelce) is a town in southern Poland with 17,900 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County. Demographics Strzelce Opolskie is one of the ...

to Anton and Julija (née Hepner) Nestor. His family moved near

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

when his father got a job there as a state forester. Nestor continued his education at the

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

Mariastern Abbey. He was ordained a priest on 2 February 1917 as a member of the abbey where he served as a teacher in the abbey's elementary school and as a governor of the abbey's resources. In 1931 he left the Trappist order and joined the diocesan priests after which he was appointed parochial vicar in Ljubunčić. In 1936 he was transferred to

Bosanski Petrovac Bosanski Petrovac ( sr-cyrl, Босански Петровац) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a ...

where he was appointed parish priest. As the majority of Catholics of the parish had lived in

Drvar Drvar (, ) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 2013 census registered the municipality as having a population of 7,036. It is situated in western Bos ...

, he moved the parish seat there.

Death

On 26 July 1941 he went with his parishioners on a pilgrimage to Saint Ann near

Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...

. On the way back to Drvar on 27 July, near Trubar, Serb rebels stopped the train and killed the group. Afterwards, the bodies were tossed into the Golubnjača pit.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nestor, Waldemar Maximilian 1888 births 1941 deaths 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic priests Bosnia and Herzegovina people of German descent People from Strzelce Opolskie Drvar