István Sándor SDB
Salesian lay brother, martyr
Born: October 26, 1914
Died: June 8, 1953
This is the story of István Sándor SDB (1914-1953), a Hungarian Salesian brother and a martyr of Communism.
He was born in Szolnok on October 26, 1914 as the first of three siblings. His father was a railroad company employee.
The Franciscans had a strong presence in the city. István received Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation in the Franciscan parish. Later on, he participated in retreats organized by the monks.
He went to a Catholic school in Rákospalota, a former city which is now part of Budapest.
From 1928 until 1931, he studied to become a lathe operator in Szolnok. In 1932, he wanted to enter the Salesians, but one of the requirements was an endorsement by his parents, which he only got in 1935.
The following year, István moved to Budapest and worked in the Don Bosco Press Rákospalota, which published religious books, the Don Bosco Calendar, the Missionary Youth magazine and various other youth magazines. The leadership of the Salesian order wanted him to finish his studies as a printer’s apprentice and a two-year probation period before being admitted to the novitiate. He became the group leader of the National Association of Young Catholic Craftsmen and Workers (KIOE).
In 1938, István started his novitiate and on September 8, 1940, he made his temporary vows. He was recruited into the military various times during the war. On July 24, 1946, he made his eternal vows.
The interior of the Franciscan church in the city center of Szolnok. Image by Fülöp András, CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0, here
In 1950, all religious orders were “disbanded” by the government. Following that, he worked under the alias “István Kiss” in a Persil factory. While working there, he met with his former students in private homes.
Various students were recruited into the military and pressure was put on them to join the ÁVH (“State Protection Agency”), which was the secret police of Communist Hungary at the time. Some of them joined, but also kept their faith and even got other recruits to become Catholic. This activity later became the perfect pretext for accusing István and his friends of “wanting to undermine” the security apparatus.
The priest Ferenc Tomka writes in his book “Halálra szántak, mégis élünk” (“They wanted us to die, but we still live”, quoted here) about the case of István Sándor:
“A new pub called Pokol Csárda (Hell Pub) opened on Árpád út, the main street in Újpest. The sign next to the entrance read: Enter Hell! The young people arriving at the Clarisseum [the school building, where some of the clandestine meetings were being held] for their meeting, together with their leader, decided that this was meant to be a mockery of their faith. The next morning, the boys smeared black tar on the sign. The pub managers called the ÁVH, and their dogs led them to the Clarisseum. There they arrested Hajnalka Hegedűs, a 15-year-old high school student who had just arrived. Through torture, they extracted the names of several members of the group and the leading monk.”
After these events, a party member who was sympathetic to István, informed him about the arrest warrant issued against him. His district superior made preparations for István to flee to Austria, by arranging false documents and contacting a smuggler. However, Sándor decided in the last minute that he doesn’t want to flee, but stay by his friends even if it means martyrdom.
The janitor in the apartment complex of the seminarian Dániel Tibor, one of Sándor’s friends, was a Communist agent, who became suspicious at the volume of letters Tibor received. She opened the letters, and this led to the arrest of Tibor, István and others.
The Communists lied to the defendants, claiming that they would be released quickly if they admit to the charges. A few defendants did admit to the “conspiracy”, but they were condemned to year-long prison sentences.
István Sándor and his three companions, Albert Zana, Ferenc Farkas, and László Ari, were sentenced to death. The latter’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
István Sándor, Albert Zana, and Ferenc Farkas were hanged on June 8, 1953. Tibor Dániel died in 1956 as a result of the abuse he suffered in prison.
István Sándor was “beatified” by Angelo Amato in Budapest in October 2013.
Sources
All the following sources are in Hungarian.
Official site (also available in English)
Article on the website of the Salesians (here)
Article on the website of the Mindszenty Foundation (here)
Article on the webpage of a Salesian school (here)
The river Zagyva at Szolnok. Image by Fülöp András, CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0, here. The image was cropped in accordance with the license terms.