János Brenner, O.Cist (; religious name: Anasztáz Brenner; 17 December 1931 – 15 December 1957) was a Hungarian

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and member of the

Cistercian Order The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

. Brenner studied for the priesthood during a period of

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

persecution of

religious orders A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their founders, and have a d ...

. Communist authorities came to suspect him of being critical of their regime; his success as a youth chaplain made him a threat. As a consequence, he was murdered by hired men who stabbed him 32 times and inflicted severe wounds to his head using canes. He died soon after having been hurled into a ditch in the woods. The beatification took place on 1 May 2018 in

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

Life

János Brenner was born on 17 December 1931 in the Vas province as the second of three boys. His two brothers also became

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

. He attended a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

-run grammar school in

Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...

from 1941 to 1946 after the Brenners moved there. He later attended the grammar school that the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

Canons ran and graduated from the Cistercian school in

Zirc Zirc () is a town in Veszprém county, Hungary. It is the administrative seat of Zirc District. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Jews lived in Zirc. In 1910, 92 Jews lived in Zirc, Some of them were murdered i ...

. Brenner began his novitiate in 1950 with the Cistercians at Zirc and took the religious name "Anasztáz" (Anastasius: Greek for "

the resurrected ''The Resurrected'' (also known as ''The Ancestor'' and ''Shatterbrain'') is a 1991 American horror film directed by Dan O'Bannon, and starring John Terry, Jane Sibbett, Chris Sarandon and Robert Romanus. It is an adaptation of the H. P. Love ...

"). But a few months after, he had to interrupt his monastic formation when the

regime began to suppress all religious houses in Hungary. The

novice master In the Christian Church, a novice master or master of novices (), is a member of an institute of consecrated life who is responsible for the training and government of the novitiate in that institute. In religious institutes for women, the novice ...

, Lawrence Sigmond, sought to protect the young men undergoing formation and thus moved them from the abbey, placing them with families in private apartments. The clandestine novices met for formation and fellowship. Brenner was able to attend a diocesan seminary while staying in touch with Sigmond; he studied in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and in

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

. On 19 June 1955, Janos was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood in the diocesan cathedral of

by Bishop

Sándor Kovács Sándor () is a Hungarian given name and surname. It is the Hungarian form of Alexander. It may refer to: People Given name * Sándor Apponyi (1844–1925), Hungarian diplomat, bibliophile, bibliographer and book collector * Sándor Boldogfai ...

. Brenner's first assignment was to be a chaplain in St. Gotthard, a parish which had over previous centuries been in Cistercian care and site of a former monastery. After the communists made personal threats against the enthusiastic and idealistic chaplain, his bishop offered to send Brenner elsewhere, but he said, "I'm not afraid" and affirmed his desire to remain where he was. Around midnight on 15 December, 1957 (Brenner was preparing his sermon for 16 December) he was called to give

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

to a supposedly ill man in a neighboring town; he failed to realize that it was a trap. The 17-year-old boy who summoned him had been known to Brenner as an altar server. The young priest took anointing oils and the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

with him in his bag. He was soon ambushed in the woods and stabbed 32 times. He was found dead that morning, earning him the title "Hungarian

Tarcisius Tarsicius or Tarcisius was a martyr of the early Christian church who lived in the 3rd century. The little that is known about him comes from a metrical inscription by Pope Damasus I, who was pope in the second half of the 4th century. History T ...

," since that martyr had died in similar circumstances. Brenner was interred in the family vault in the

Salesian The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

church of Saint Quirinus on 18 December. The authorities made a failed attempt to disperse the crowd at his funeral. His ordination motto, taken from , was inscribed on the tomb: "All things work together for good to those who love God." Over the years, Catholics continued to venerate Brenner and visited his grave often. In 1981 a

stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

was dedicated to him in Saint Elizabeth's Church in his hometown. In 1989, the Chapel of the Good Pastor was built on the exact spot where the young priest had been murdered. Later, his tomb was moved to the

Szombathely Cathedral The Our Lady of the Visitation Cathedral () also called Szombathely Cathedral or Cathedral of the Visitation of Our Lady is the name given to a religious building affiliated with the Catholic Church in the city of Szombathely in Hungary, it is the ...

Beatification

The beatification process opened under

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 14 February 2001; the diocesan investigations opened on 3 October 1999 and concluded only a decade later. The Vatican later validated the process on 18 September 2009, and a commission of historians approved the cause on 4 September 2015.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

confirmed that Brenner died as a victim "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith). On 8 November 2017, the pontiff approved the priest's beatification. The solemn liturgy took place on 1 May 2018, in Szombathely's City Park.

Legacy

A Catholic school in

is named after Brenner, and the school has a bronze statue of the martyr in its courtyard. Brenner is commemorated, along with Blessed Maria Sagheddu, in an

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

Heiligenkreuz Abbey Heiligenkreuz Abbey () is a Cistercian monastery in the village of Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria, Heiligenkreuz in the southern part of the Vienna Woods, Vienna woods, c. 13 km north-west of Baden bei Wien, Baden in Lower Austria. It is the ol ...

in Austria.

Literature and documentaries

In 2023, a Hungarian language

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

about Brenner, titled ''Legyetek szeretettel'' ('), was released on

Hír TV Hír TV is a Hungarian television news channel, the first of such made in the country. It began broadcasting on 2 January 2003. History Initial years On 26 November 2002, the TV channel was registered using 20 million Hungarian forints (~64 ...

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brenner, János 1931 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Hungarian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 20th-century venerated Christians Beatifications by Pope Francis Cistercians Cistercian beatified people Deaths by stabbing in Hungary Hungarian beatified people Hungarian murder victims Martyred Roman Catholic priests People from Szombathely People murdered in Hungary People murdered in 1957