Anno Brandsma was born in 1881 in Friesland, Netherlands. In 1898, he entered the Carmel and took the religious name of his father – Titus. He made his early vows in October 1899 and was ordained a priest on June 17, 1905. He studied philosophy and mysticism. He collaborated in the founding of a Catholic university in Nijmegen (1923) and later became its rector.
In the 1930s, he openly criticized Nazi ideology. During the occupation of the Netherlands, he defended the freedom of the Catholic press and journalism in general. In January 1942, he was imprisoned and on July 26, 1942, he was killed by a phenol injection in the Dachau concentration camp. He was proclaimed blessed in 1985. His biography is available in Czech by the author duo Scapin – Secondin (KNA 1994).
He will be canonized by Pope Francis in Rome on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
