Titus came from a Catholic family in the Netherlands that encouraged the children to actively serve the Lord. Three of Titus’ sisters became nuns and a brother became a Franciscan priest. Titus was ordained at Carmelite priest in 1905, when he was twenty-four years old.
Titus taught theology at the Catholic University in the Netherlands for nearly twenty years. He was also a newspaper journalist, author and popular speaker. He was greatly respected for his holiness and his gift for giving spiritual advice.
He saw the Nazi party as a growing threat. Titus warned Catholic newspapers not to print the lies the Nazis were spreading about the Jewish people and other groups. He spoke out against the anti-Jewish laws the Nazis passed in Germany. The Nazis knew about Titus’ actions. They called him that “dangerous little friar.”
Titus was arrested when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. He was questioned by the Nazi secret police. They offered Titus a deal. They would allow him to live a quiet life in a monastery if he would announce that Catholic newspapers should publish Nazi teachings. Titus refused.
The Nazis sent Titus to Dachau, a German concentration camp. He was forced to do hard labor and underfed. He was beaten almost every day. He urged his fellow prisoners to pray for their guards. When he grew too weak to work, he was poisoned. A nurse who was present at his death said that Titus gave her his Rosary just before he died.
When Pope John Paul II declared Titus “Blessed,” he said that Titus answered hate with love. Blessed Titus lived Jesus’ words: “Love your enemies and do good to them” (Luke 6:35). We can honor Blessed Titus by trying our best, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to love and forgive one another.
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