Three Bulgarian Catholics expected to be proclaimed martyrs for the faith

Three Bulgarian Catholic priests, who preserved their faith in Jesus Christ but not their lives during the atheistic communist regime, are expected to be proclaimed blessed martyrs for the faith by Pope Leo XIV. They will thus join Eugene Bossilkov, Kamen Vichev, Pavel Djidjov and Yosafat Shishkov, who in 1952 refused to sign the protocols in the fabricated trial against them and were shot in the courtyard of the Sofia Central Prison.

After the communist coup on September 9, 1944, the new government began repressions against the Catholic Church with atheistic propaganda, followed by a ban on public events, confiscation of property, and the closure of colleges and hospitals.

"The priests were also monitored by State Security and in 1946-47 almost every one of them already had a file," says Father Paolo Cortesi, a parish priest in Belene. "The most severe repressions occurred in 1951 and 1952, when most Catholic clergy were arrested - including the bishops and some nuns. The death sentences of Bishop Bosilkov, who was later declared blessed, and of priests Pavel, Kamen and Yosafat, were pronounced in the Courthouse in Sofia. The rest were sentenced to prison or sent to camps and the last of them were released in 1967 after serving 15-year sentences. Until the changes, Catholics remained in the focus of the services. The idea of ​​the authorities was for them to disappear from Bulgaria."

Flavian Mankin is the youngest of the three priests that Catholics in Bulgaria hope to see beatified.

"Father Flavian Mankin was captured by partisans in 1944," says Paolo Cortesi. "As a parish priest in Rakovski, he cared for children, served liturgies, and stayed away from politics. This young and cheerful man from the Capuchin Order was chopped into pieces with an axe and his body was thrown into the Stryama River. Two laymen were killed with him - also martyrs, as they tried to protect their priest."

The second martyr for the Christian faith was Bishop Ivan Romanov. After being subjected to extensive torture, he died in prison, where he was serving a 12-year sentence for espionage.

"Monsignor Ivan Romanov, born in the village of Duvanlii, became a palace chaplain to Tsar Ferdinand as a young man and worked in his home, including after his abdication outside Bulgaria, until 1941," says Father Paolo. "At the beginning of World War II, he was appointed by the Pope as the bishop of Sofia and Plovdiv and in 1944 he began to experience the repression of the authorities against the Catholic Church. In the summer of 1952, he was arrested and a few months later, at the age of 73, he died in the prison in Shumen."

Fortunat Bakalski was one of the large group of Catholics arrested and tortured in 1952. Subjected to torture, he died at the age of 36 in the Sofia Prison.

"Father Fortunat Bakalski, also a native of the Rakovski region, was a parish priest for several years at the capital's St. Joseph Cathedral and at the same time he was editor of the Catholic magazine 'Istina'. He declared himself against the new government, emphasizing the impossibility of a clergyman to accept atheism and criticizing the restrictions imposed on the Catholic Church and the expulsion of foreign priests. Fortunat Bakalski loudly declared his position at the backdrop of others who remained meek like lambs led to the slaughter."

The process for the beatification of the three martyrs, which consists primarily of collecting information and documents about their lives and work, is expected to be completed within two years. However, what contribution will this act add to the authority and work of the Catholic Church in Bulgaria – as an example of dedication and steadfastness in difficult times?

„They are an example of humble, hard-working people who loved their homeland, worked for the education of the young and served everyone,“ Paolo Cortesi answers. „They were also good, honest and smart Bulgarians and their compatriots should rejoice that in these dark times there were individuals who, without violence, without using bad words and actions, worked until their last moment for the good of the people. These true Bulgarians fell into the trap of repression and may they be an inspiration for all of us to give energy and goodness to society.“

Father Paolo hopes to witness the canonization of the first Bulgarian Catholic saint some day. "However, for this to happen, it is not enough to have been killed for the faith," he adds. It is necessary for a miracle to be performed through the intercession of a blessed martyr.

Several people have already testified to miraculous healing with the help of Eugene Bossilkov and the other Bulgarian blessed priests, but their words must be supported by clinical documentation, as the Vatican takes this process extremely seriously. And while we wait for prayers to produce a miracle, Paolo Cortesi wishes not only Catholics, but all people in Bulgaria to get acquainted with the victims of those dark times and draw strength from them to be good citizens and good believers.

Fr Paolo Cortesi: Blessed Eugene Bosilkov and other priests martyrs were Enlighteners who lived in faith