Richard Henkes

After his ordination, Father Richard Henkes dedicated himself primarily to teaching and spiritual direction in his congregation's schools, notably in Schönstatt and Alpen. In 1931, he was sent to Upper Silesia to teach at the Pallottine school in Katscher, then was transferred in 1937 to Frankenstein. From the advent of the National Socialist regime in 1933, Father Henkes firmly opposed Nazi ideology. Through his hard-hitting homilies and his teaching, he tirelessly denounced racial theories and anti-Christian propaganda. He spoke out in particular against the euthanasia program for disabled persons (Action T4), describing these acts as murders contrary to divine law. This freedom of speech led to him being quickly monitored by the Gestapo. In 1937, after a sermon delivered in his native village of Ruppach, he was denounced and prosecuted. He narrowly escaped conviction thanks to the amnesty decreed during the Anschluss in 1938. His superiors, worried for his safety and that of the schools, decided to remove him from teaching. He then dedicated himself to leading spiritual retreats for young people in Branitz. In 1941, to prevent him from being forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht, Vicar General Joseph Martin Nathan appointed him administrator of the parish of Strandorf (today Strahovice, in the Czech Republic). In this border region marked by strong nationalist tensions, Father Henkes strove to promote reconciliation between Germans and Czechs. He undertook to learn the Czech language in order to better serve his parishioners and to build bridges between the two communities.

On April 8, 1943, following a sermon delivered in Branitz where he openly opposed the deportation of mentally ill patients from local hospices, Father Henkes was arrested by the Gestapo. After a short imprisonment in Ratibor (Racibórz), he was deported on July 10, 1943, to the Dachau concentration camp (prisoner number 49642). At Dachau, he was assigned to the priests' barracks (Block 26) and subjected to forced labor. Despite the inhumane living conditions, he maintained an unwavering faith, shared his meager rations with the most destitute, and provided moral support to his fellow sufferers. It was in this context that he formed a friendship with Josef Beran, the future Archbishop of Prague and cardinal, who helped him perfect his command of the Czech language. Father Henkes indeed nurtured the plan to return to work for German-Czech reconciliation after the war. In August 1944, he was appointed secretary and administrator (kapo) of the reception block 17. At the end of 1944, a terrible typhus epidemic broke out in the camp. Faced with the distress of the sick crowded into the quarantined Block 17, Father Henkes volunteered to be locked inside in order to care for them and provide them with spiritual comfort. Conscious of the mortal danger, he spent several weeks at the bedside of the dying, primarily Czech prisoners. He eventually contracted the disease and died on February 22, 1945, just a few weeks before the liberation of the camp.

The reputation of holiness and martyrdom of Father Richard Henkes spread rapidly after the war, carried in particular by the testimonies of survivors of Dachau, including Cardinal Josef Beran. The diocesan process for his beatification was officially opened in 2002 in the Diocese of Limburg. On December 21, 2018, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing his martyrdom, establishing that he was killed "in hatred of the faith" (in odium fidei). The beatification ceremony was celebrated on September 15, 2019, in St. George's Cathedral in Limburg by Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, representing Pope Francis. During the Angelus prayer on the same day, Pope Francis honored the memory of this "courageous disciple of Christ."

The spirituality of Blessed Richard Henkes is deeply rooted in the charism of the Pallottines, summarized by the motto of Saint Vincent Pallotti: "Caritas Christi urget nos" (The charity of Christ urges us). From his youth, he expressed the desire to become a "priest-sacrifice," ready to bear the cross for others. His legacy is that of an intrepid witness to the truth in the face of totalitarian lies. By refusing to remain silent in the face of injustice and by freely offering his life to care for typhus patients in Dachau, he embodied the pinnacle of Christian charity. Furthermore, his pioneering commitment to reconciliation and friendship between the German and Czech peoples makes him, even today, a major figure of ecumenical dialogue and peace in Central Europe.