Venerable Vilmos Apor

Baron Vilmos Apor de Altorja (29 February 1892 – 2 April 1945) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic prelate, born as a baron in the noble Apor family, and served as a bishop during World War II. He became famous for protesting against the persecution of the Hungarian Jewish population and for his steadfast commitment to the poor. His outreach also extended to abuse victims with a particular emphasis on the protection of women - it would be this latter commitment that saw him sustain fatal injuries leading to his death. Apor dedicated himself to being an opponent of both communism and Nazism and used his sermons as a platform to condemn them though coming at a great personal risk to himself. Apor was a beloved figure in his diocese, where people hailed him as a great saint upon learning of his death. The beatification process opened on 5 March 1991 and culminated after Pope John Paul II presided over the beatification in Saint Peter's Square on 9 November 1997. Vilmos Apor de Altorja was born in 1892 to the nobles Baron Gábor Apor (1851–98) and Countess Fidelia Pálffy ab Erdöd (1863–1934). His father died in his childhood due to complications from diabetes. His mother was strict but caring and imparted religious instruction to her children. He served as an altar server during his childhood and his love for the priesthood intensified such that he harbored an interest in becoming a priest himself. Bishop Miklós Széchenyi was his uncle. Apor attended high school at a Jesuit-run school in Kalksburg where his desires to become a priest intensified further despite his initial homesickness. Apor liked Latin as well as historical studies and received outstanding marks in these subjects while a treatise on the historical Church earned him a prize; he also liked tennis and swimming. Apor then transferred to another Jesuit school at Kalocsa.