Hermann Stępień (21 October 1910 – 19 July 1943) was a Polish Roman Catholic martyr.

Early life

Karol Stępień was born into a poor family on 21 October 1910, in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland.Andreas Resch, ''Die Seligen Johannes Pauls II: 1996-2000'', Innsbruck: Resch Verlag, p. 23

/ref>Biography of Hermann Stepien
Church of Saint Sigismund of Burgundy, Sigismund, Słomczyn, Piaseczno County Stępień was educated in Łódź. He attended the Franciscan seminary in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, graduating in 1929. He then attended the

Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure The Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure or Pontifical Theological Faculty of Saint Bonaventure (, ), commonly called the Seraphicum, is the international study center of the Conventual Franciscans, Friars Minor Conventual in Rome. As a Pontif ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He was ordained as a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

priest in 1937 in Rome, taking the religious name "Hermann". Stępień returned to Poland, where he earned a Master's degree in Theology from

Lviv University The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

Vocation

Stępień served as a Francisco priest in

Radomsko Radomsko () is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship. It is the county seat of Radomsko County. Founded in the 11th century, Radomsko is a former royal city located ...

and

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. In 1940, he was asked by Bishop Kazimierz Bukraba of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pinsk The Diocese of Pinsk (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in Belarus. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev. Its cathedral is a minor basilica: the Cathe ...

to go to Piaršai to help their parish priest, Achille Puchala. When the Nazis invaded in 1943, Stępień decided to stay and keep preaching. He declared: "Pastors cannot leave the believers!"

Death

On 19 July 1943, the Nazis took Stępień, Puchala and their parishioners to a barn in Borowikowszczyzna (today Borovikovshchina in Valozhyn District, Belarus), which they set on fire, thus murdering them all together.Nominis: Bienheureux Achille Puchala et Hermann Stepien
/ref>

Legacy

Stępień was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "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 name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 13 June 1999, in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepien, Hermann 1910 births 1943 deaths Clergy from Łódź University of Lviv alumni 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs Polish beatified people 20th-century venerated Christians Polish Franciscans Franciscan beatified people