Munich
Card. Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, will open the beatification process for journalist Fritz Gerlich and for theologian and philosopher of religion Romano Guardini with a solemn liturgy at the Cathedral of Munich on Saturday, 16 December, at 5.30pm. The Postulator Johannes Modesto will submit the petition to the archbishop. The readings will be proposed by Christian Krügel, head of department at the Süddeutsche Zeitung – Gerlich was editor-in-chief of the newspaper Münchner Neueste Nachrichten, the precursor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung -, and by philosopher and scholar of Guardini Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz. The Diocese invites “all believers” to “attend the celebration and to provide useful information for the process. The process for Gerlich, who was killed for his religious beliefs by the Nazis, should follow the “martyrdom” category, as he was tortured, imprisoned and murdered in hatred of the faith. In 1930, Fritz Gerlich Michael (1883-1934) became editor of the magazine “Der gerade Weg” (The Straight Path) strongly opposed to Adolf Hitler and National Socialism. In March 1933, Gerlich was arrested and detained without trial before being transferred to Dachau on 1 July 1934 where he was shot. Romano Guardini (1885-1968) was a priest, theologian and professor of philosophy of religion first in Berlin and later on in Tübingen and at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, where he worked as a university preacher until 1962. Guardini is considered to be among the pioneers of the liturgical reform of Vatican II.
