(ANS - Rome) - On the occasion of the upcoming beatification of the Salesian Brother and martyr Stephen Sandor, the Procurator General for the Causes of Saints of the Salesian Family, Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, has written a detailed biography that traces the day-to-day life and the spiritual life of the future Blessed. The book, which is published in Italian, is entitled: "Stephen Sándor: Martyr of the Gospel of joy."

After the Second World War, a large army of martyrs shed their blood in Hungary during the period of the totalitarian regime, established by violence under the Bolshevik power. They died because of their faith.  Among them is blessed Stephen Sándor, a Salesian brother. He was a victim of the strong anti-religious repression of the Hungarian Communist regime in the years 1946-1963. It was particularly harsh and bloody persecution.

This publication is the first documented work on the life and martyrdom of the young Salesian Brother, Stephen Sándor, who will be beatified in Budapest on 19^th October. The research is based primarily on the testimony and documentary material gathered in the diocesan and Roman enquiries for his beatification and canonization. 

What emerges from the documented reconstruction of the biographical details of Stephen Sándor is not only a chronological presentation of the facts, but the  record of a real journey of faith ​from his early years, reinforced by his  Salesian religious profession and incarnated in the exemplary life of the Salesian Brother.

We see in particular a genuine religious vocation, animated by the spirit of our founder St. John Bosco, and an intense and fervent zeal for the salvation of souls, especially those of the young, for whom Stephen Sándor did not hesitate to offer his life.

Published 03/10/2013