Vladimir Ghika or Ghica (25 December 1873 – 16 May 1954) was a Romanian diplomat and essayist who, after his conversion from Romanian Orthodoxy to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, became a priest. He was a member of the princely

Ghica family The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia a ...

, which ruled

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

at various times from the 17th to the 19th century. He died in prison in May 1954 after his arrest by the

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 ...

Biography

Early life

Vladimir Ghika was born on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

of 1873 in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(now

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

). His father was John Ghika, diplomat, minister plenipotentiary in

; his mother Alexandrina was born Moret de Blaremberg (van Blarembergue) in a Flemish-Russian family ; he had four brothers and a sister: Gregory, Alexander, George and Ella (who both died at an early age), and Demetrius Ghika (future ambassador and minister of foreign affairs). He was the grandson of the last Prince sovereign of

, Prince Gregory V Ghika, who ruled from 1849–1856. He was raised with the Eastern Orthodox faith. In 1878, in order to give a good education to the children, the family moved to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. There, they frequented the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

community, because the Orthodox church was not represented in the area. Ghika received his Degree in Law in 1895, after which he attended the Paris Faculty of Political Science. At the same time, he frequented courses of Medicine, Botany, Art, Literature, Philosophy, and History. Ghika returned to

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

due to an attack of

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstru ...

and continued his studies in Romania. Ghika was an alumnus of the College of St. Thomas, the future Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas ''Angelicum'', in Rome. In 1898, he enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology. At the ''Angelicum'', Ghika completed a licentiate in Philosophy and a Doctorate in Theology in 1905. Soon after, he converted to the Catholic faith in 1902.

Pilgrimage

Ghika wanted to become a priest or monk, but

Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

advised him to give up the idea, at least for a while, and to dedicate himself to secular apostolate instead. He became one of the pioneers of the lay apostolate. After returning to Romania, he dedicated himself to works of charity and opened the first free clinic in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

called Mariae Bethlehem. He also set the foundation for a great hospital and

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

named after

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...

, founded the first free hospital in

and the first ambulance, thereby becoming founder of the first Catholic charity work in

. He was dedicated to patient care while participating in health services in the

Balkan War The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defea ...

in 1913, without the fear of cholera in Zimnicea. He was also in charge of diplomatic missions among the Avezzano earthquake victims of tuberculosis of Hospice of

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 ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. On 7 October 1923, Ghika was ordained a priest in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

by Cardinal Dubois, Archbishop of the city. He served as a priest in France until 1939. Shortly after Ghika was ordained, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

authorized him to celebrate the Byzantine Rite. Prince Ghika thereby became the first bi-ritual Romanian priest. On 13 May 1931, the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

appointed Ghika to be an

Apostolic Protonotary In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

, but he was reluctant to accept it. He worked worldwide, including

, Congo,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Sydney, and

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, among others. Later, in jest, Pope Pius XI called him an "apostolic vagabond".

Imprisonment and death

On 3 August 1939, he returned to

, where he was caught in 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 opposi ...

. He refused to leave

at that time so that he could be with the poor and sick. However, he left eventually for the same reason in

when they started Allied bombing. After the Communists came to power, he also refused to leave on the royal train, for the same reasons. He was arrested on 18 November 1952, because of his support for the Catholic Church in communion with Rome and his opposition to the schismatic church that the regime was creating. He was charged for "high treason" and threatened, beaten, tortured and processed. Eventually, he was imprisoned at

Jilava Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava. The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin ( Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as '' ...

on 16 May, and he died in 1954 due to the treatment to which he was subjected.

Beatification

Vladimir Ghika 2018 stampsheet of Romania 2

Ghika was proposed for

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

by the Archdiocese of Bucharest, based on a dossier with his biography submitted to the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

in the Vatican. On 27 March 2013, Pope Francis declared Ghika to be a martyr. He was beatified on 31 August 2013.

Education

*1893 – School of Toulouse (France) *1893–1895 – Faculty of Political Sciences in

; attending courses in Medicine, Botany, Art, Literature, Philosophy, History, and Law *1895-1898 – Continued his studies in private *1898–1905 – Faculty of Philosophy and Theology; obtained a Degree in Philosophy and a Doctorate in Theology *1904–1906 – Continues to study History

Writings

Although he had culture and capacity, he avoided producing personal writings. He wrote only because he was forced by circumstances and needs. He did research work in the Vatican archives, publishing some of the results in the ''Revue Catolique''. He also wrote magazine articles in ''Literary Talk'', ''

La Revue Hebdomadaire ''La Revue hebdomadaire'' was a literary magazine founded in 1892 by and published until 1939. History Until the beginning of 20th century, the journal was directed by Pierre Mainguet with as editor. In 1908, it absorbed the monthly magazine '. ...

'', ''Les Études'', ''Le Correspondant'', ''La Revue des Jeunes'', and ''La Documentation Catholique''. His short personal meditations were subsequently published in various editions as ''Pensées pour la suite des jours''.

Writings published in French

*''Méditation de l'Heure Sainte'', first edition, 1912 *''Pensées pour la suite des jours'', first edition, 1923 *''Les intermèdes de Talloires'', 1924 *''La Messe Byzantine dite de Saint Jean-Chrystome. Nouvelle traduction française adaptée à l'usage courant des fidèles du rite Latin avec commentaire et introduction par le prince Vladimir I. Ghika'', 1924 *''La visite des pauvres: manuel de la dame de Charité : conférences'', first edition, 1923 *''Roseau d'Or'' (''Chroniques'' – Volume VIII), a collection of thoughts (such Pensées pour la suite des jours), 1928 *''La Sainte Vierge et le Saint Sacrement'', 1929 *''Vigia'' (book IV), a collection of thoughts (such Pensées pour la suite des jours), 1930 *''La Femme adultère. Un prologue, un acte, un épilogue.'' 2e édition, 1931 *''La souffrance'', first edition, 1932 *''La Liturgie du prochain'', first edition, 1932 *''La Présence de Dieu'', first edition, 1932 *''Derniers témoignages'' eemMgr Vladimir Ghika. Presentes par Yvonne Estienne, 1970; posthumous publication that collects various other unpublished thoughts

Writings published in Romanian

*Our Lady and the Holy Sacrament. Speech delivered by Monsignor Ghika opening in November 1928 Eucharistic Congress in Sydney, Australia *Adulteress. Gospel Mystery comprising a prologue, an act, an epilogue. Pieasă theater *Thoughts For the Days Ahead *Spiritual Conversation *Interludes in Talloires *Last witness, Vladimir Ghika, pref. Yvonne Estienne *Posthumous fragments. Institute of previously unpublished archive *"Vladimir Ghika" (translation of documents unpublished)

Legacy

In 1970, the Fraternity of the Transfiguration was founded; the Fraternity's spirituality stems from Vladimir Ghika.

Bibliography

;Biography *''Vladimir Ghika. Profesor de speranță'', Francisca Băltăceanu, Andrei Brezianu, Monica Broșteanu, Emanuel Cosmovici, Luc Verly, prefață de IPS Ioan Robu, Editura ARCB, București 2013. *''Vladimir Ghika, professeur d'espérance'', Francesca Baltaceanu et Monica Brosteanu, préface de Mgr Philippe Brizard, Cerf, 2013 *''Vladimir Ghika. Prințul cerșetor de iubire pentru Cristos'', Anca Mărtinaș, Editrice Velar, Editura ARCB, București 2013. *''Vladimir Ghika. Il principe mendicante di amore per Cristo'', Anca Mărtinaș, Editrice Velar, Editrice ELLEDICI, Gorle, 2013. *''Monseniorul: amintiri și documente din viața Monseniorului Ghika în România'', Horia Cosmovici, Editura Galaxia Gutenberg, Târgu Lăpuș, 2011. *''Mgr Vladimir Ghika. Prince, prêtre et martyr'', Charles Molette, AED, Paris, 2007. *''Vladimir Ghika. L'Angelo della Romania'', in ''Il nono libro dei Ritratti di santi', Antonio Maria Sicari o.c.d., Jaka Book, 2006. *''Monseniorul: amintiri din viața de apostolat'', Horia Cosmovici, Editura MC, București, 1996. *''Principe, sacerdore e martire. Vladimir Ghika'', Jean Daujat, Edizioni Messaggero di Padova, Padova, 1996. *''Prince et martyr, l’apôtre du Danube, Mgr Vladimir Ghika'', Hélène Danubia, Pierre Tequi, Paris, 1993. *''La memoire des silence, Vladimir Ghika 1873–1954'', Élisabeth de Miribel, Librarie Artème Fayard, 1987. *''Une flamme dans le vitrail. Souvenirs sur Mgr. Ghika'', Yvonne Estienne, Editions Du Chalet, Lyon,1963. *''Vladimir Ghika, Prince et Berger'', Susane-Marie Durand, Castermann, 1962. *''Une âme de feu, monseigneur Vladimir Ghika'', Michel de Galzain, Éditions Beauchesne, 1961. *''L’apôtre du XX-em siècle, Vladimir Ghika'', Jean Daujat, La Palatine-Plon, 1956. *''Les Convertis du 20e siècle – Du Palais à l'autel et à la geôle. Le Prince Vladimir Ghika'', de Pierre Gherman, Bruxelles, 1954. *Monseniorul Vladimir Ghika -Schita de portret European de Stefan J. Fay – Continent 2006 ;Studies *''„Rugați-vă toți pentru mine...” Monseniorul Vladimir Ghika și martiriul său'', Florina-Aida Bătrînu, ARCB, București, 2013. *''O lumină în întuneric: Monseniorul Vladimir Ghika'', Mihaela Vasiliu, ARCB, București, 2012. *''Une lumière dans les ténébres. Mgr Vladimir Ghika'', Mihaela Vasiliu, Cerf, Paris, 2011. *''Mgr Vladimir Ghika apôtre et martyr. Actes du colloque à la mémoire de Mgr Vladimir Ghika. Octobre 2010, Paris'', ABMVG, Paris 2011. *''A trăit și a murit ca un sfânt! Mons. Vladimir Ghika 1873–1954'', ed. Ioan Ciobanu, ARCB, București, 2003.

References

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Romanian anti-communist clergy Romanian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Securitate custody 1873 births 1954 deaths Romanian people of Albanian descent Beatifications by Pope Francis 20th-century Christian martyrs 20th-century venerated Christians Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni