Bl. Zoltán Lajos Meszlényi
Born: January 2, 1892
Died: March 4, 1951
Feast: March 4
Patron saint of: N/A
Zoltán Lajos Meszlényi was elected bishop in Hungary after quickly rising through the ranks of the clergy. His talents were confirmed by many during a time when Communism was taking a stronger hold in Hungary, but the Communist party had a different candidate in mind for bishop. Zoltán was arrested by the Communist party only 12 days after his election to bishop and was detained in the Kistarcsa internment camp. He was kept in solitary confinement, starved, and tortured for eight months; some witnesses say he was also forced to face extreme temperatures in a room with no windows. Official charges were never brought against Bishop Meszlényi while he remained imprisoned, and it is believed that Zoltán died sometime between January and March of 1951. He was buried in an unmarked grave, but his body was exhumed in 1966.
Image: Magyar Kurir via Wikimedia Commons
