(1923-1942)
Blessed Lojze Grozde was born illegitimately in Slovenia in 1923. He was cared for by relatives in a rural environment and did heavy manual work. Blessed Lojze was an outstanding student at school and became a member of Catholic Action, a lay organisation to promote good Catholic works. He loved reading, especially poetry. Blessed Lojze had a great devotion to the Eucharist, which he called the “Sun of my life”. Blessed Lojze wanted to do everything he could to promote the Kingdom of God, to lead other young people and to sacrifice himself for the salvation of souls. He also had a great love for the Virgin Mary, who helped him to enlarge the horizon of his spiritual life.
Slovenia was occupied during the Second World War by Italy and Germany. Civil War also broke out. At the beginning of 1943, at the age of only 19, Blessed Lojze left school to go to his family home for the holidays. On his journey he was seized by communists, who found him carrying a Missal, a book on Our Lady of Fatima and the spiritual classic ‘The Imitation of Christ’. That same night the communists tortured Blessed Lojze to death. His mutilated body was found a month later in a forest, without corruption. After the Second World War, because of the communist regime, it was prohibited to speak aloud about Blessed Lojze’s death, but despite this, his fame of martyrdom and reputation for holiness grew.
At his Beatification Mass, Pope Benedict said that, “Blessed Lojze was particularly devoted to the Eucharist, which nourished his unshakeable faith, his capacity for sacrificing for the salvation of souls and his apostolate in Catholic Action of leading other young people to Christ.”