Remains of Blessed Stephen Sandor Found

Remains of Blessed Stephen Sandor, Salesian Martyr, Found

(ANS – Budapest – March 25) – The Hungarian Salesian Province announced with great joy and emotion that at the end of a long process of study and research, it has succeeded in identifying and bringing to light the remains of Blessed Stephen Sandor, Salesian martyr (1914-1953).

The beatification Mass of Blessed Stephen Sandor in St. Stephen Square 

in front of St. Stephen Cathedral in Budapest, Oct. 19, 2013.

Preparation work began over a year ago under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Eva Susa, a legal expert. Based on the documents of the era that were consulted, professional experience, and the hypotheses held, there was a conviction, or at least the strong hope, that the martyr’s body was buried with companions who shared the same tragic death, in the New Public Cemetery of Budapest, and more precisely in the 37th place, in the second row, in burial niche 301.

The Hungarian Communist government sentenced Salesian Brother Stephen Sandor to death on the basis of false charges; he was buried in an unmarked tomb. Before his beatification in 2013, the Salesian Congregation had tried to recover his body. The historical-archival study of Dr. B. Varga Judit, although not having achieved a definitive result, largely contributed to the current work.

On November 12, 2018, in the presence of scholars and experienced professionals, the tomb was opened, and bones belonging to six complete skeletons were extracted.

The anthropological study performed on the bones took place in the NSZKK Anthropology Laboratory of the National Research Center. Genetic material belonging to the martyr was extracted from an envelope that Blessed Sandor had personally sealed and from a stamp used by his brother. DNA analysis was performed by Dr. Eszter Dudas.

“At the end of these exams, carried out under strict specialist supervision, we are pleased to announce that, from both a legal and a forensic point of view, among the remains of the six subjects we found we were able to identify those of Blessed Stephen Sandor, Salesian martyr,” Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, postulator general of the causes of saints of the Salesian Family, stated with satisfaction.

Subsequently, based on instructions from the Holy See, news will be provided regarding authentication, preservation of the relics, and religious celebrations.

The Salesian Family thanks all those who participated, collaborated, and made the process of recovery and identification possible.

Press Conference on Discovery of Blessed Sandor’s Remains

(ANS – Budapest – March 28) – During a crowded press conference held at the provincial house of the Hungarian Salesians in Budapest on March 27, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni (photo, 2d from left) commented: “This year the whole Salesian Family worldwide is developing the theme of holiness. I think the finding of the remains of Blessed Stephen Sandor is a great gift for the Salesian Family and for the Hungarian Church and society.”

The Salesian provincial on Hungary, Fr. Abraham Bela, and several scientific and forensic specialists involved in the work of finding and identifying the remains also took part in the press conference. Fr. Cameroni opened the session by recalling that Pope Francis had declared Stephen Sandor a martyr exactly six years earlier, on March 27, 2013. “There is therefore this happy correspondence between his martyrdom and the finding of his remains,” he noted.

He then explained how the recent discovery “is not in itself a novelty in the history of the Church: in ancient times the remains of the martyrs were found, even after decades and centuries. We are taking part in a story that continues.”

After thanking the Salesians of Hungary and all the authorities – civil, medical, and scientific – “who accompanied this process with great care and professionalism,” the postulator general invited public authorities and the National Research Center to support further research on the remains.

“On this basis, we – as a Congregation and with the Holy See – can proceed from the canonical-juridical-ecclesial point of view,” continued Fr. Cameroni, who subsequently illustrated the entire process to which the remains will now be subjected.

Fr. Cameroni also announced that requests to receive small portions of the relics of Blessed Sandor have already come in from different parts of the world, and that soon a special reliquary will have to be made to allow the public veneration of the relics.

Blessed Stephen's memorial is observed on June 8, the date of his execution and his entrance to eternal life.