Paperback: Born at Bolsward (The Netherlands) in 1881, Blessed Titus Brandsma joined the Carmelite Order as a young man.
Ordained priest in 1905, he obtained a doctorate in philosophy in Rome. He then taught in various schools in Holland and was named professor of philosophy and of the history of mysticism in the Catholic University of Nijmegen where he also served as Rector Magnificus. He was noted for his constant availability to everyone.
He was a professional journalist, and in 1935 he was appointed ecclesiastical advisor to Catholic journalists. Both before and during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands he fought, faithful to the Gospel, against the spread of the Nazi ideology and for the freedom of Catholic education and the Catholic press. For this he was arrested and sent to a succession of prisons and concentration camps where he brought comfort and peace to his fellow prisoners and did good even to his tormentors.
In 1942, after much suffering and humiliations he was killed at Dachau. He was beatified by John Paul II on November 3rd 1985.
The Beatification of Father Titus Brandsma, Carmelite (1986) writes about the beatification of Father Titus Brandsma and the three-day of solemn Triduum on 3 November 1985 at St Peter's Church, Rome. It is a reprint from Carmel in the World, 25 (1986), 83-240.
About the editor: Reverend Redemptus Valabek, OCarm (1934-2003) had been the editor and driving force behind Carmel in the World. In August 2003, Redemptus Valabek, OCarm died tragically in a road traffic accident while on holidays in the United States.
Rev Redemptus Maria Valabek, OCarm was a member of the Order of Carmelites and of the North American Province of St Elias. He was 69 years old. Father Redemptus was born in Shelton, Connecticut, on 3 July 1934, to Frank and Anna Valcik Valabek. His parents predeceased him. He is survived by one sister, Ann, and her husband, James Waldron; niece, Theresa and her husband, Marcus, and son, Marcus, Jr. Yancoskie, nieces, Angela Waldron and Renee Waldron all of Shelton, Connecticut, several cousins in Albany and in the Czech Republic also survive him. After completing his studies at St Albert's Junior Seminary in Middletown, New York, Father Redemptus received his habit in the Order of Carmelites, in September 1953, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, when he entered the Carmelite Novitiate. Following his Novitiate year he professed First Vows on 8 September 8 1954, in Williamstown, and three years later professed his Solemn Vows of Obedience, Poverty and Chastity on 15 September 1957. He was ordained to the priesthood on 25 July 25 1960, in Hamilton, Massachusetts. A 1957 graduate of St Bonaventure College in Olean, NewYork, he earned his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Latin. He then traveled to Rome, Italy, and attended the College of San Alberto, where he studied Theology and then earned his Doctorate in Theology from the Lateran University in 1965.
Father Redemptus spent 40 years of his Carmelite ministry life in Rome, Italy. He served as the Master of Students and headed the theology-spirituality section at the College of Saint Albert; was Apostolic Examiner of the Clergy from 1967-75, lectured on liturgy at several Roman universities and was Postulator General of the Causes of Saints for the Order of Carmelites from 1981-1995. He served as Dean of Regina Mundi College, was a member of the Institutum Carmelitanum, a Confessor at St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, and Editor of the English language magazine, Carmel in the World. He further served the Order as General Delegate for the Donum Dei Missionary Family from 1998 until his death. He authored six books on Carmelite topics. He was an organizer of the Carmelite Order's International Congress on Prayer, the Order's month-long workshop on Leadership and Values, attended the Congress of the Carmelite Rule in 1986, was organizer of the International Marian Congress in 1989 and most recently served as a member of the International Commission of Laity. Father Redemptus was also a multi-linguist who, for a good many years, served the Carmelite Order as an interpreter at various General Chapters and international meetings.
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