A Modest Home with Abundant Generosity

for the Feast of the Blessed Ulma Family

Three years ago, the Ulma family—Wiktoria, Józef, and their seven children—were beatified. They died as martyrs in 1944 trying to protect their Jewish neighbors from the Nazis. Today, July 7, is their feast day. Not the date of their death (March 24), but the anniversary of Wiktoria and Józef’s wedding.

• You can read their incredible story here.

• And Blessed Józef was a photographer; you can see photos of their family here.

I want to highlight three areas of their story.

First, the family died as martyrs, but not because of anti-Christian persecution. They were not targets of violence. They could have easily ridden out the Nazi regime unharmed like so many Polish and German Christians. But they put themselves in harms’ way to protect the people who were being villainized, scapegoated, and persecuted by their government.

In the family Bible, they had this passage underlined in red: “A Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him: He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him” (Luke 10: 33-34).

Blessed Ulma Family by Ruben Ferreira as part of his “Defiant Love in Times of War, Holiness under the Third Reich” exhibition

Second, the Ulmas were not wealthy. They gave not from their excess, but from their necessity. Their house had one room, with a closet dividing the dining area from the bedrooms. And yet they found room in their home for multiple refugee families. Before their martyrdom, this was a family practiced in abundant generosity.

Five of the Ulma family children at their home in Markowa, Poland. Read more here

Third, when they were beatified, it was the first time in the Church’s history where an entire family was beatified together…including their unborn and unbaptized baby. We are within living memory of parish priests refusing to bury unbaptized children in the Catholic cemetery, and now the Church has beatified an unbaptized child. The doctrinal implications of this have yet to be fully unpacked.

I would encourage you to take a moment to read about their life, their love, and their death.

Blessed Wiktoria, Blessed Józef, Blessed Stasia, Blessed Basia, Blessed Władzio, Blessed Franuś, Blessed Antoś, Blessed Marysia, and Blessed Baby Ulma: Pray for us.

*AI was used to edit this post