Diocese of Linz – Franz Jägerstätter Beatification Website
Click here to go to access the Franz Jägerstätter Beatification Website for those who speak English set up by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Linz. There is more information regarding Jägerstätter’s life and writings provided on the website for those who speak German – click here to view that version of the website using an imperfect, but helpful, internet English translation program.
Franz Jägerstätter Article & Lesson Plan
The Catholic Peace Fellowship invites you to revisit the article “In Light of Eternity: Franz Jagerstatter, Martyr.” from The Sign of Peace for Ordinary Time, 2003 (Vol. 2.3)
To download Following Christ in a Radical Way: Conscientious Objection and the Story of Franz Jägerstätter – a lesson plan developed by the Catholic Peace Fellowship from our “Classroom” page click here.
Franz Jägerstätter & Gordon Zahn
In our last email, we reported the joyful news that the Church has granted official recognition of martyrdom to Franz Jägerstätter, a Catholic conscientious objector to Hitler’s army, thus clearing the way for his beatification and eventual canonization. We at CPF wish to give recognition also to Gordon Zahn, himself a Catholic conscientious objector during World War II, who wrote In Solitary Witness: The Life and Death of Franz Jägerstätter. It was this book that let the world learn about this man of conscience, an example for our times. We thank Gordon for his dedication and his witness to the faith.
Read more about Gordon in CPF’s article,”Let Us Now Praise Gordon Zahn.”
Click here to order the book In Solitary Witness: The Life and Death of Franz Jägerstätter from Templegate Publishers.
Franz Jägerstätter Film – The Refusal
In 1971, Axel Corti directed a film on Jägerstätter’s life and martyrdom for Austrian television based on Zahn’s book and other materials that surfaced after the books publication. The film, entitled The Refusal, caused much consternation, soul searching and controversy in Austria when it aired. Artistically it is magnificently presented in stark black and white format. For those who do not speak German, there are easily read English subtitles.
Click here to order the film The Refusal on DVD from Center for Christian Nonviolence.
Other Noteworthy Links
Click here to read “Franz Jägerstätter: Martyr and Model” by William Doino Jr. from First Things – “On the Square” – Thursday, October 25, 2007 (This article contains a reference to The Catholic Peace Fellowship and cites The Sign of Peace).
Click here to read a homily preached on Sunday, 21 October AD 2007 by Deacon Tom Cornell, who lives at the Catholic Worker Farm in Marlboro, NY, and serves a nearby Catholic parish, Saint Mary’s.
Click here to read “Hard History to Face” by Christa Pongraz-Lippit from the 20 October 2007 issue of The Tablet.
Click here to read “Declaration of Catholic Martyrdom of Franz Jägerstätter, Beheaded by the Nazis, Will Support Conscientious Objectors to War” by Mark and Louise Zwick from Houston Catholic Worker, Vol. XXVII, No. 4, July-August 2007.
Click here to go to Fr. William M. Becker’s webpage where you can find his homily for September 23. In the homily preached at Saint Mary’s Parish of Winona, Minnesota, Fr. Becker reflects on the life and martyrdom of Franz Jägerstätter.
Click here to read “Act of Defiance to Nazis Still Reverberates Today: Austrain a Hero to Antiwar Movement” by David Crumm from Detroit Free Press – August 8, 2007.
For those making the pilgrimage to Linz and Saint Radegund in late October click here.
To read a long biographical essay that was used as the introduction to Franz Jagerstatter: Letters & Writings from Prison: Franz Jagerstatter: a 20th century martyr click here.
The Catholic Peace Fellowship will continue to add to this page as the beatification date for Jägerstätter nears. Please check back for further updates.