28 Facts About Anton Durcovici

Anton Durcovici was a Romanian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and the Bishop of Iasi from 1947 until his death.

Anton Durcovici was known for being a zealous bishop who visited each parish within the confines of his diocese and known for his efforts in preaching the Gospel to all that he could.

Anton Durcovici likewise was known for his staunch commitment to the values of the Gospel and for his allegiance to the Church which led to his false arrest and imprisonment at the hands of the communist regime.

Anton Durcovici was a professor of seminarians and taught his students subjects such as canon law.

Anton Durcovici was born on 17 May 1888 as the second of two children in Bad Deutsch Altenburg to Franz Durcovici and Maria Mittermeier; he was baptized in the Assumption church on the following 21 May He left for the Kingdom of Romania together with his widowed mother and his brother Franz; the three settled in Iasi in 1895.

Anton Durcovici's father had died from acute tuberculosis in 1893.

Anton Durcovici's father contracted this as a result of his time as a soldier back in the 1878 Bosnian campaign.

Anton Durcovici's mother sought work as a washerwoman and as a seamstress.

From 1898 Durcovici attended the S Andrei high school that the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Bucharest managed and it was there that he met the Benedictine monk Lucius Fetz who became impressed with Durcovici and his academic results.

Anton Durcovici attended the S Iosif school from 1901 to 1906.

Anton Durcovici became an altar server at this time and attended morning Mass before being given a snack and sent to school.

Anton Durcovici mastered the Romanian and Greek languages but studied Hungarian in addition to the traditional Italian language and Latin; he studied the French language.

Anton Durcovici used the week before starting his studies in Rome to explore both Rome and Saint Peter's Basilica before beginning his studies on 4 November 1906.

Anton Durcovici's ordination was postponed due to his age since Durcovici had not reached the required age needed for ordination.

Anton Durcovici received his ordination to the priesthood on 24 September 1910 from Cardinal Pietro Respighi in the Lateran Basilica.

Anton Durcovici returned to Romania on 11 August 1911 where he was appointed as a schoolteacher for seminarians in Bucharest and then as a parish administrator in Tulcea.

Anton Durcovici became the rector to seminarians in Bucharest in 1924 and held the office until April 1948 following his episcopal appointment.

Anton Durcovici's consecration took place in the Saint Joseph Cathedral in Bucharest.

Anton Durcovici had become an opponent of the post-World War II communist regime who attempted to have him accept a decrease in papal control over Romanian Catholics.

Anton Durcovici was placed under surveillance in 1947 and the communists kept a dossier on him and hoped to indict him on some sort of charge.

Anton Durcovici was arrested in the streets while he was going to impart the Confirmation sacrament at a parish near the capital which saw him beaten as he was forced into a waiting car.

Anton Durcovici was held in Jilava Prison from June 1949 to 10 September 1951 and then transferred to Sighet Prison together with his fellow bishop Aron Marton and Alexandru Cisar.

At Sighet, Anton Durcovici was the target of torture and deprivations.

Anton Durcovici was put into Cell 13 with no light and heat.

Anton Durcovici was stripped naked and exposed to the winter weather as well as being denied food and water which led to his death in his cell in the evening on 10 December 1951 as a result of the mistreatment and malnutrition.

Witness accounts state that Anton Durcovici received final absolution through a cell door from a fellow priest prisoner.

Pope Francis confirmed on 31 October 2013 that Anton Durcovici had died "in odium fidei" and confirmed that Anton Durcovici would be beatified.

Anton Durcovici issued the statement in light of the beatification which he hoped would inspire unification of all peoples.