Valeriu Gafencu (24 January 1921 – 18 February 1952) was a member of the Iron Guard who was active during the Legionnaires' rebellion. Arrested by the state authorities in 1941, he died 11 years later at . He was declared "Saint of the Prisons" by theologian Nicolae Steinhardt for his "exemplary Christian conduct and devotion to those in suffering", and the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...

was reportedly considering his canonization in 2013.

Biography

Gafencu was born in 1921 in

Sîngerei Sîngerei (also spelled Sângerei) is a city in Moldova and the seat of Sîngerei District. One village is administered by the city, Vrănești. History During the interwar period, the city was the seat of Plasa Sângerei, in Bălți County, R ...

, at the time a city in Bessarabia, a region in the northeastern part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

(now in the

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

). He attended the Ion Creangă High School in

Bălți Bălți (; russian: Бельцы, , uk, Бєльці, , yi, בעלץ ) is a city in Moldova. It is the second largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city is one of the five Moldovan municipalit ...

, where Eugen Coșeriu,

Sergiu Grossu Sergiu Grossu (14 November 1920 in Cubolta – 25 July 2009 in Bucharest) was a Romanian writer and theologian. Biography Sergiu Grossu was born to Ion and Maria Grossu on 14 November 1920 in Cubolta. In 1927, his family moved to Bălţi, wher ...

Vadim Pirogan Vadim Pirogan (28 June 1921 in Bălţi – 16 January 2007 in Chişinău) was a Bessarabian activist and author. He was the head of the Communist Regime Victims Association and a member of the Moldovan Writers' Union. Biography Vadim Pi ...

Ovidiu Creangă Ovidiu Creangă (February 14, 1921 – December 4, 2017) was a Romanian activist and author. He served as an official of the Ministry of Economy (Romania) and taught at the Politehnica University of Bucharest. He lived in Canada from 1982 until ...

, and

Valentin Mândâcanu Valentin Mândâcanu (27 July 1930 – 29 October 2012) was a writer and politician from Republic of Moldova. Mândâcanu was a founder of the Democratic Movement of Moldova. He was elected in 1990 election and served as member of the Parliame ...

were his classmates. Shortly after he graduated in 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and northern Bukovina; as a result, Gafencu and his family took refuge in Romania. Gafencu was declared an honorary citizen of the town of

Târgu Ocna Târgu Ocna (; hu, Aknavásár) is a town in Bacău County, Romania, situated on the left bank of the Trotuș River, an affluent of the Siret, and on a branch railway which crosses the Ghimeș Pass from Moldavia into Transylvania. Târgu Ocna is ...

in 2009, but the decision was rescinded in 2013 due to his participation in the Legionnaires' rebellion in January 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gafencu, Valeriu 1921 births 1952 deaths People from Sîngerei District Romanian people of Moldovan descent Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Members of the Iron Guard Inmates of Aiud prison Inmates of Pitești prison Romanian prisoners and detainees Romanian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Securitate custody