Servant of God Áron Márton

Áron Márton (28 August 1896 – 29 September 1980) was an ethnic Hungarian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Alba Iulia from his appointment in late 1938 until his resignation in 1980. He served as a prelate during a tumultuous period that included World War II and the emergence of a communist regime in Romania. He was even meant to become a cardinal but refused the honor when he learnt that another Romanian prelate would not be elevated into the cardinalate with him. The organization Yad Vashem honored him on 27 December 1999 as a "Righteous Among the Nations" for his efforts to stop the deportation of Romanian and Hungarian Jews during the course of World War II. Márton's cause for canonization opened on 17 November 1992 under Pope John Paul II and he is titled as a Servant of God. On 18 December 2024, Pope Francis declared him "Venerable" (heroic in virtue). Áron Márton was born to Szekler peasant parents in Csíkszentdomokos, Kingdom of Hungary, part of Austro-Hungarian Empire, (now Sândominic, Romania) on 28 August 1896 to Ágoston Márton and Julianna Kurkó. His initial studies were overseen in his village from 1903 to 1906 before moving to a Roman Catholic school at Csíksomlyó from 1907 until 1911. He was at another school from 1911 to 1914 before moving to a high school at Gyulafehérvár (now Alba Iulia, Romania). He graduated from high school in 1915 and was soon after drafted into the Austro-Hungarian armed forces that 15 June. He was involved in battles of World War I as a lieutenant (in the 82nd Infantry Regiment) in different conflict zones and was injured several times (first at Doberdo and then at Oituz and Asiago). The conclusion of the war saw him find work as a farmer and was also a metal worker in Brassó (now Brașov, Romania) from 1918 to 1920.