Blessed Titus Brandsma

Blessed Titus Brandsma was born in the Netherlands on 23 February, 1881 and grew up on the family farm. He joined the Order of Carmelites in 1898 and was ordained a priest in 1905. Because of his intellectual gifts, Titus was sent for advanced studies and obtained his doctorate in philosophy at Rome. He became a university professor and one of the founders of the Catholic University of Nijmegen.

Blessed Titus also worked as a journalist and was appointed as ecclesiastical advisor to Dutch Catholic journalists. After the Nazis invaded Holland, Blessed Titus tried to persuade Catholic newspapers not to print Nazi propaganda. For this reason, he was arrested and deported to Dachau concentration camp in 1942. He died there by lethal injection in the same year.

In spite of the atrocious sufferings which he endured in Dachau, Blessed Titus radiated cheerful courage. A fellow priest recalled this advise of Titus: “Do not yield to hatred. We are here in a dark tunnel, but we have to go on. At the end, an eternal light is shining for us.”

This icon portrays the close bond between Blessed Titus’ priesthood and martyrdom. The white inner robe is one of the vestments worn by a priest and is also the garment in which martyrs are depicted in The Apocalypse 6:9-11. The outer vestment is red, the color worn by priests on the feasts of martyrs. It is embroidered with crosses, identifying Titus with the suffering Christ. His raised hands signify his priestly supplication as well as his total surrender to the will of God. His face reveals his compassion for mankind and the exquisite love of God which marked his contemplative and priestly life.