Today the Church, in an historic move, beatified an entire family who were killed by the Nazis for sheltering Jews. The Ulma family – parents Jozef and Wiktoria and their seven children, including a newborn who seems to have been born at the moment of martyrdom – paid with their lives for extending charity to others.

Their sacrifice is much like that of Maximilian Kolbe, Damien of Molokai, Aloysius Gonzaga and so many others who died in the service of charity. To this list we can of course add Fr Willie, who died trying to save wounded soldiers. Let us continue to pray and work so that he, too, may be formally recognised by the Church for his holiness and sacrifice.

(Image: John 15:13 in Fr Willie’s handwriting).