Pope Benedict XVI has officially recognized Franz Jaegerstaetter as a martyr. After refusing to serve in Hitler's army, Jaegerstaetter was executed under the charge of treason. Jaegerstaetter was the only person in his village to have voted against the creation of "Greater Germany" shortly after Austria was annexed by the Nazis in 1938. In 1943, he was beheaded. Only ten years ago did a Berlin court posthumously exonerate Jaegerstaetter.Franz Jaegerstaetter's recognition as a martyr advances his cause for sainthood. For beatification, being declared a martyr eliminates the need for a miracle attributed to the person after death to have occurred. However, a miracle attributed to his intercession is still required prior to canonization.
1 comment(s):
Excellent developement because he died not for the faith explicitly but for God's law implicitly. That makes sainthood more relevant to the morals of people in the world. And it makes martyrdom not just an explicit thing of a nun being killed in church but it makes it an implicit thing for those more in the world.
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