Lojze Grozde (1923–1943)

Biography

(Slovene: Lojze or Alojzij Grozde).

He was born in the Slovenian village of Zgornje Vodale. He was born out of wedlock, and his mother married when he was four years old. His aunt took charge of him. Marginalized so that he would not remind the family of its shame, he was completely deprived of family affection. Feeling wounded, he withdrew, rebelled and became truly unruly. Unwanted by everyone, he himself lamented that he had not died in an accident. His only consolation was the solitude of the forests.

But when he first went to school, he found liberation. He overcame his inferiority complex and became an excellent student. He discovered reading, which became his passion. Difficult as it may seem, Lojze was devout.

At last fortune knocked at his door. A benefactress enabled him to continue his studies at a school in Ljubljana, the capital. It was 1935, the year of the Eucharistic Congress. The religious celebrations impressed him, but he also experienced the scorn of classmates who saw only a poor, unkempt and pretentious peasant. Lojze reacted violently to this discrimination, but also with the pride of being the best student, thanks to his perseverance and hard work. He had no friends either in his village or in the city, and sought refuge in study, in poetry, for which he had genuine talent, and in alcohol. Yet he was not without good qualities. He readily gave free lessons to his classmates and encouraged them. He was devout, but still yielded to the temptations of an easy life and strayed onto morally blameworthy paths.

Then, brought by some friends, he joined Catholic Action. Little by little a struggle began within him that led to a radical conversion. He established a program of prayer and accepted responsibilities, including editing the movement’s magazine. He realized that studies were not merely a means of social advancement but also an instrument of apostolate. Having become one of Catholic Action’s best leaders, he preached not only with words but above all by example. His life had changed in its habits and in the virtues of purity, gentleness, humility and patience: he was a true apostle, a witness to Christ. He prayed, received Communion daily and took part in spiritual retreats. An enemy of mediocrity, his desire was radical: a saint or nothing! He was preparing to follow a priestly vocation.

His final years at school coincided with the approach of the Second World War and with civil war, which plunged Slovenian society into deep chaos. Meanwhile the political situation in Yugoslavia changed. The global conflict of the Second World War was followed by the rise of communism promoted by Tito and the subsequent persecution of the Catholic faith. Leaders of Catholic Action and priests were killed simply because they dared to warn of the danger of Marxism. Lojze Grozde knew that he was an easy target for persecution. He entrusted the sacrifice of his life to Christ. “I do not want to be a mediocre man. A task as beautiful and sublime as the one proposed by Catholic Action is worth living at any price.”

During the summer holidays of 1942, Grozde could not return home because of the violence in his native region of Lower Carniola. He decided to visit his family on New Year’s Day 1943 and requested permission for the journey. On 1 January he attended Mass at the Cistercian monastery of Stična and then took a train, which he had to leave because the tracks were blocked. He decided to continue on foot toward Mirna, where a partisan sentry stopped and questioned him at the entrance to the town.

They found on him a small Latin missal, Thomas à Kempis’s “Imitation of Christ” and a book about Our Lady of Fatima. He was arrested and accused of propaganda against communism. During the night he was tortured to death. His body was found days later in the woods near Mirna, bearing signs of torture but incorrupt. His reputation for holiness has grown ever since, and in Slovenia he is regarded as a true martyr. His Holiness Benedict XVI beatified him on 13 June 2010.