Jägerstätter commemoration: Human rights and peace ethics in focus

Celebrations from August 8th to 9th with lectures by Jägerstätter biographer Putz and Pax Christi President Palaver - Concluding Mass with Bishop Scheuer on the 82nd anniversary of the death of the beatified conscientious objector in St. Radegund

On the occasion of the 82nd anniversary of the death of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter (1907-1943), the annual international commemoration will take place on August 8th and 9th in his Upper Austrian hometown of St. Radegund. The celebrations have been an integral part of the memory of the Nazi conscientious objector since 1983. This year's program will focus on contributions by Jägerstätter biographer Erna Putz and social ethicist and President of Pax Christi Austria, Wolfgang Palaver, on the topic of peace ethics. The event will conclude on August 9th at 7:30 p.m. with a service led by Linz Diocesan Bishop Manfred Scheuer, followed by a candlelight procession to the Blessed's grave.

The commemoration will begin on Friday, August 8th, at 6:00 p.m. with an evening prayer in the parish church of St. Radegund. Theologian Palaver will speak on the topic of "Human Rights and Democracy Under Pressure - Resilience from Christian Peace Ethics" on August 9th at 10:00 a.m. in Tarsdorf. Beforehand, Erna Putz will address "Franz Jägerstätter on the Path to His Decision" (9:30 a.m.). Following the lectures, the traditional pilgrimage on foot will begin from Tarsdorf to St. Radegund at 1:30 p.m. At 4 p.m., a service will be held in the local parish church to mark Jägerstätter's death.

Franz Jägerstätter, a farmer, sexton, and family man from the Innviertel region, had refused to bear arms to fight for the Nazi regime for religious reasons. He was subsequently sentenced to death by the Reich Military Court in Berlin for "undermining military morale" and beheaded on August 9, 1943, in Brandenburg an der Havel. The Vatican officially confirmed Franz Jägerstätter's martyrdom on June 1, 2007. He was beatified on October 26, 2007, under Bishop Ludwig Schwarz in Linz's St. Mary's Cathedral. Franz Jägerstätter's liturgical memorial day is the day of his baptism, May 21.

Source