Second-eldest daughter of Franz and Franziska Jägerstätter dies.
Jägerstätter's daughter Maria Dammer dies. Of your charity, pray for the repose of her soul.
Her father was always a role model for her.
Maria Dammer, the second-eldest daughter of Franz and Franziska Jägerstätter, died on July 18, 2025, at the age of 87 in Braunau Hospital. "She shared with people the life and testimony of her parents' faith," Bishop Manfred Scheuer said in tribute to the deceased.
Until a few months ago, Maria Dammer (née Jägerstätter) still welcomed groups of visitors and pilgrims from Austria and abroad to the Jägerstätter House in St. Radegund. On July 18, 2025, the second-eldest daughter of Franz and Franziska Jägerstätter passed away at the age of 87. "I am convinced that Maria Dammer is now reunited with her parents in heaven," Bishop Manfred Scheuer said in an initial reaction.
Franz Jägerstätter, farmer and sexton in St. Radegund (born May 20, 1907), was a staunch opponent of National Socialism and, for religious reasons, refused to bear arms to fight for the Nazi regime. He was subsequently sentenced to death by the Reich Military Court in Berlin for "undermining military morale" and executed by beheading on August 9, 1943, in Brandenburg an der Havel. He was beatified on October 26, 2007, in St. Mary's Cathedral in Linz. His wife, Franziska, had always encouraged him in his decision of faith and stood by him until the end. The couple were blessed with seven years together. Franziska outlived Franz by 70 years, passing away in 2013.
Maria was 5 when her father was beheaded.
Maria Dammer knew her father mainly from her mother's stories. When he was executed, Maria was barely five years old. "I remember very little about my father. I only remember my mother reading the letter announcing the execution. We were sitting in the living room, and I remember that we all cried a lot," Maria Dammer said in a 2018 conversation with Andreas Schmoller. For the family, there was "not much to understand about Jägerstätter's conscientious objection. It was just like that. We couldn't contribute anything to his decision," Dammer reported in a 2019 interview with "Tiroler Sonntag." Her mother, Franziska Jägerstätter, "accepted and supported" her father's decision, even when everyone else talked to him and tried to change his mind. "He was already completely desperate, and my mother just accepted it as it happened," her daughter said. Her parents "liked each other very much," said Maria Dammer, who was once told by a neighbor that her parents always went to church holding hands, which was unusual at the time. "My parents were an unusual couple for their time. They were able to show their feelings."
Franz Jägerstätter was beatified on October 26, 2007, in Linz's St. Mary's Cathedral. His wife Franziska always encouraged him in his decision of faith and stood by him until the end. The couple were blessed with seven years together. Franziska outlived Franz by 70 years, passing away in 2013.
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