CV NEWS FEED // Pope Francis has issued an official papal decree of martyrdom for the Hungarian Servant of God, a laywoman named Maria Magdolna Bodi, who died in the hands of Soviet soldiers.
The Holy Father’s May 23 declaration marks a significant moment in the Servant of God’s canonization process, which has seen extended periods of stalling due to historic circumstances at the time of her death in 1945, and subsequent loss of her records.
According to her website, Bodi was born in August, 1921 to working class parents whose marriage could not be validated in the Catholic Church since her father did not have identification papers. Bodi discovered and fell in love with the Catholic faith in a religion class at her village school. Upon receiving her first Communion, Bodi began leading “an intense life of piety,” and augmenting her knowledge of the faith through ardent study.
By the time she was seventeen, Bodi felt that she had received a call to religious life, but could not enter any order since her parents had not been married in the Catholic Church. Throughout her young adult years, Bodi worked in a factory, and was part of the Catholic Working Women’s Association. She was reportedly known among her colleagues for her “calm serenity, her smart but never offensive answers, and her hard work.”
On the feast of Christ the King in 1941, Bodi took a private vow of Chastity, and joined the Marian Congregation in 1942. “She often asked God to let her die young so that she could bring young people closer to God through her death,” Bodi’s website states.
In March 1945, the battle between Hilter’s forces and the Soviet Red Army had reached Bodi’s hometown of Litér in west Hungary. The Soviets were known at this time for their ruthlessness and violence against women.
On March 23, Bodi was among a group of women that were attacked at the entrance of a bomb shelter by two armed Soviet soldiers. Bodi was shot several times, and is reported to have said “My Lord and my King! Take My Life!” before the soldier fired a final bullet at her heart, killing her.
Bodi was reportedly holding a rosary at the time of her death.
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