Blessed Richard Henkes - Catholic Blessed

Blessed Richard Henkes

Blessed

Post-Congregation

Feast Day

22-Feb

Born

26 May 1900 in Ruppach, diocese of Limburg, Westerwald, Germany

Died

22 February 1945 in cell block 17 of the Dachau concentration camp, Germany of typhoid he had contracted while caring for fellow prisoners; body cremated; ashes smuggled out of the camp and given Christian burial in Limburg, Germany on 7 June 1945; ashes re-interred in Limburg in 1990

Beatified

15 September 2019 by Pope Francis; the beatification recognition was celebrated at the Cathedral of Sankt–Georg in Limburg, Germany with Cardinal Kurt Koch as chief celebrant

Venerated

21 December 2018 by Pope Francis (decree of martyrdom)

Biography

Blessed Richard Henkes, born on 26 May 1900 in Ruppach, Germany, was one of the eight children in a devout Catholic family headed by a stone mason. His mother, deeply committed to their religious upbringing, taught Richard and his siblings about the faith and would bless them with holy water each night before bed. This early exposure to spirituality instilled in Richard a deep love for God and a desire to serve others.

Cause for Canonization

Beatified

Beatified2019-09-15 by 15 September 2019 by Pope Francis; the beatification recognition was celebrated at the Cathedral of Sankt–Georg in Limburg, Germany with Cardinal Kurt Koch as chief celebrant