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Thursday, December 04, 2008

Faithful Even Unto Death: The Witness of Alfred Delp, S.J.

Faithful Even Unto Death: The Witness of Alfred Delp, S.J. | Fr. Albert Münch

Editor's Note: Fr. Alfred Delp was a German Jesuit priest who was imprisoned in Berlin. At the time of his arrest, he was the Rector of St. Georg Church in Munich, and had a reputation for being a gripping, dynamic preacher, and one who was an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime. He was an important figure in the Resistance movement against Nazism.

Accused of conspiring against the Nazi government, he was arrested in 1944, tortured, imprisoned, and executed on February 2, 1945. While in prison, Fr. Delp was able to write a few meditations found in Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings, 1941-1944, which also includes his powerful reflections from prison during the Advent season about the profound spiritual meaning and lessons of Advent, as well as his sermons he gave on the season of Advent at his parish in Munich. These meditations were smuggled out of Berlin and read by friends and parishioners of St. Georg in Munich. Last year marked the 100^th anniversary of Fr. Delp's birth and the 70^th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

The following article contains some of the thoughts and recollections of Fr. Albert Münch, a close friend of Fr. Delp. It was first published in Reden und Ansprachen zum Gedenken an Pater Alfred Delp, S.J., Hammerich, Lampertheim, 1975, vol. 1, pp. 13-26. Translation from the German by Abtei St. Walburg.