Ulma Family One Step Closer to Sainthood
By Eileen Jevis, Staff writer
For the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, an entire family is on the path to sainthood. In 2023, the Ulma family was given the status of “Blessed” during a beatification Mass in the family’s village of Markowa, in southeastern Poland.
The Ulma family relic
During World War II, Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma and their children were executed by the Nazis for hiding eight Jews in their farmhouse. The Nazis shot and killed Wiktoria, who was eight months pregnant with her seventh child, along with Jozef and their six other children. The Church declared that the seventh child, who was in the process of being born upon its mother’s death, was a ‘baptism of blood’ and therefore, the child could be added to the group of martyrs.
Beatification is the third of four steps necessary to become a saint. To be beatified and recognized as “Blessed,” one miracle obtained through the candidate’s intercession is required. The basis for the Ulma family’s step toward sainthood is their designation as martyrs of charity and exhibiting heroic virtue.
On May 16, congregants of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Syracuse joined Bishop Douglas J. Lucia, Father Andrew Baranski, fellow priests, deacons and seminarians to celebrate a solemn Mass and the installation of the Relics of the Blessed Ulma family. The Knights of Columbus also participated in the Mass.
While the Basilica has a large Polish faith community, Fr. Baranski said that this unprecedented cause for sainthood for an entire family is important for all members of the Catholic Church. “The significance of this occasion is to remind us that this family was elevated to Blessed due to their heroic virtues,” he said. “They helped others regardless of their personal cost and sacrifice and were willing to lay down their lives out of love for their neighbors.”
Parishioner James Johnson said that the Mass was very moving and the Bishop captured the essence of the moment. “As Bishop Lucia mentioned, Jozef and Wiktoria’s heroism demonstrates Luke’s parable of the Good Samaritan, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ (Luke 10:27) They followed the call of Christ to love your neighbor,” Johnson said. “This is more important than ever in today’s world with the increase in hate crimes and antisemitism.”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence for us who are here to witness it; to be part of a true miracle,” added parishioner Karen Galloway. “The service was very symbolic with all of us praying together for the common goal of vocations and the intercession of the Ulma family. The family is a true testament of our faith; to be the disciples we are meant to be.”
Bishop Douglas J. Lucia prays during the Basilica Mass.
The evening was extra special for Deacon Pawel Zmija, who will be ordained a priest in the Syracuse Diocese on June 1 and whose ancestorial roots are in Poland. He said the event was important to him for two reasons. “First, because the family was from Poland and I naturally promote my culture worldwide,” he said. “And secondly, the ceremony was important to me because it is the first time in the history of the Catholic Church that an entire family was beatified by the pope. It shows me how significant the family is in the teachings of the Catholic Church.
“World War II was a time of atrocities, helplessness and lack of humanity and people asked themselves, ‘where was God in all of this,’” Dc. Pawel continued. “But I think many people, who despite their own difficult situations, thought not only about themselves but about others.” Dc. Pawel said that despite the consequences, the Ulma family hid a Polish-Jewish family from the Nazis because of their desire to help others. “It’s not that we have to welcome everyone in need into our homes,” he said. “The point is that we, as Christians, are obliged to treat other people with dignity and respect.”
The first-class relics of the Ulma family are pieces of bone from the parents and children and include a certificate of authenticity. Fr. Baranski is grateful to Archbishop Adam Szal of Przemysl, Poland who graciously agreed to share relics of the Blessed Ulma family with the Sacred Heart Basilica.
The Basilica has a number of relics on display including those of Saint Marianne Cope, Saint Faustina Kowalska, Saint John Paul II, and relics of the Holy Cross, to name a few. Fr. Baranski said they are all on display in the sanctuary and he invites people from across the diocese to visit, view the relics and pray for intentions.
