Venerable István Sándor

István Sándor (26 October 1914 – 8 June 1953) was a Hungarian Salesian and labourer, martyr and Blessed. István Sándor was born in Szolnok in 1914, the first year of the First World War. His father, István Sándor, worked for MÁV, the Hungarian State Railways, as an unskilled worker. His mother, Mária Fekete, gave decent education to István and his two younger brothers, László and János, despite the family's poor circumstances. After four years of primary school, István studied at a state school between 1924 and 1928, and later at a vocational school until 1931. At this school, he studied to become an iron turner and a copper smith. After school, he worked as a stock worker and as a turner for a while. At the beginning of 1936 he travelled to Budapest in order to be trained to become a printer in the press of the Salesian order in Rákospalota. As an aspirant, he soon took part in the Salesians' education of children, and he dealt with the altar boys primarily. He applied for admission to the novitiate half a year later. First, the province council suggested two years of probationary period for him since he had to complete his aspirant period as well as his printer apprenticeship first, which he accomplished in March 1938. He started the novitiate in Mezőnyárád the same year. However, he was conscripted into the army soon, so he had to restart the novitiate in the summer of 1939, and he made his first temporary vows in 1940. Two years later he was conscripted again as a Salesian helping brother. He took part in the battles of the Second World War as a correspondent and telegrapher. He served in Délvidék, Erdély, Felvidék and at the Don-bend too. He received an award for his brave behaviour. After the Don defeat, his corps gradually moved to the west, so he was in Germany when the War finished. In Germany he got into American captivity. Having arrived home from the captivity in 1945 and started to work in the press of the order called Clarisseum.