Pope Leo XIV, Romanian Church and Jewish Leaders Honor Greek Catholic Bishop Iuliu Hossu

Blessed Iuliu Hossu, the Romanian Greek Catholic bishop of Cluj-Gherla, was named a cardinal “in pectore,” meaning secretly, by Pope St. Paul VI in 1969. He was in a communist prison in Romania at the time and never received the red hat.

On June 2, 2025, Pope Leo XIV, together with representatives of the Romanian church and the country’s Jewish community, paid tribute to the martyred bishop during an evening ceremony in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. According to the report, Hossu was arrested, imprisoned and denied his freedom for decades because he refused to join the Orthodox Church after the Greek Catholic Church was outlawed by the communist government.

The ceremony also honored Hossu for what Pope Leo described as “his courage and heroism before the communist takeover of Romania.” The pope said that between 1940 and 1944, as “the Nazis were carrying out their heinous plan of deporting them to extermination camps,” Hossu stood up for and saved thousands of Jews in Northern Transylvania. “At enormous risk to himself and to the Greek Catholic Church, Blessed Hossu undertook extensive activities on behalf of the Jews aimed at preventing their deportation,” the pope said. In 1944, he said, Hossu “mobilized the Greek Catholic clergy and faithful through a pastoral letter” calling them to help Jews “not only with your thoughts, but also with your sacrifice.”

Silviu Vexler, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania and a member of the Romanian parliament, addressed the gathering. He said Hossu’s actions were “unimaginable and almost incomprehensible to almost all of us,” adding that “it is not his suffering that must define the image we hold of him, but the strength of his beliefs.” Thanking the pope, Vexler offered a wish on behalf of Jews and Jewish communities in Romania that God would bring hope, peace, love and faith to people in need.

Pope Leo said Blessed Hossu showed the spirit of the martyrs, described as “an unshakeable faith in God, devoid of hatred and coupled with a spirit of mercy that turns suffering into love for one’s persecutor.” He called the bishop’s message “most timely” and said his efforts “to protect his neighbor in spite of all risks and dangers” made him “a model of freedom, courage and generosity.” The pope also prayed that Hossu’s example, which he said anticipated the teaching later expressed in *Nostra Aetate* of the Second Vatican Council, would serve as a beacon for today’s world. The 60th anniversary of that declaration is approaching.

“Let us say ‘No!’ to violence in all its forms, and even more so when it is perpetrated against those who are defenseless and vulnerable, like children and families,” Pope Leo said. He spoke of protecting those who cannot defend themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Source: Read the original report