Pilgrims of hope in Lübeck are reminiscent of: martyr commemoration 2025!
Pilgrims of hope in Lübeck are reminiscent of: martyr commemoration 2025!
Lübeck, Deutschland - Over 100 pilgrims from northern Germany visited Lübeck from June 25th to 28th, 2023 to commemorate the Lübeck martyr. As part of the Catholic Holy Year "Pilgrim of Hope", which was proclaimed by Pope Francis and continued by Pope Leo XIV. This reports the Archdiocese Hamburg and thus emphasizes the meaning of the remember.
At a service, hope and faith were discussed, with Archbishop Dr. Stefan Heße, who traveled by bike from Schwerin, spoke about his experiences and the strong headwind on the trip. In his sermon, he reminded of an emotional letter from the blessed Johannes Prassek from July 1942. In it, Prassek reported an inner peace, although he was threatened by death. The words of the martyr are a sign of hope in uncertain times and are particularly relevant in view of the current crises such as the war in Ukraine and the tensions in the Middle East.
The Lübeck martyr
On November 10, 1943, the three Catholic priests Eduard Müller, Johannes Prassek and Hermann Lange and the Protestant pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink were executed in Hamburg. These four clergymen sacrificed their lives because they decidedly opposed the National Socialist regime. Joseph Goebbels urged her execution and they became known as the "Lübeck martyr". The world , as the clergy suffered while they united in the resistance. Stellbrink, who took over the Lutherkirche in Lübeck in 1934, made contact with the Catholic clergy in 1941, which finally led to their joint arrest in 1943
The trial against the clergy began on June 22, 1943, and they received the death penalty with a judgment that Stellbrink described as a "traitor" and condemned the Catholic priests for "treacherous enemy favoring". All requests for mercy were rejected and the execution was executed despite international protests. Here their body was crowned and the ashes scattered.
legacy and commemoration
Annual memorial services take place in Lübeck on November 10, where the courageous attitude of these four men is recognized. In 2004 the procedure for the beatification of the three Catholic clergymen was opened, and they have been considered blessed since 2011. The Evangelical Pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink is recognized in the Evangelical Calendar of Names and listed in the "German Martyrologium of the 20th Century", which underlines its outstanding importance in the interconfessional memory.The criteria for martyrdom, as defined by the Catholic Church, contain a violent death, the motive of hatred of faith and church among the pursuers and the conscious assumption of the will of God in mortal danger. These criteria are crucial for admission to the German martyrology, as on the website of the German martyrology is explained.
Lübeck remains an important place of commemoration and the hope of which the courage and steadfastness of the Lübeck martyrs are repeatedly brought into the light.
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| Ort | Lübeck, Deutschland |
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