The 1947 General Chapter of the Pallottines in Rome advocated beatification processes for the Polish and German martyrs of the Nazi period, including Fr Henkes by name. But this first impulse completely petered out because the beatification of Vincent Pallotti and, thirteen years later, his canonisation soon attracted all attention.
It was the first beatification in Limburg Cathedral.
On 15 September 2019, hundreds of faithful, including many from Poland and the Czech Republic, celebrated the beatification of Richard Henkes by the Roman Curia Cardinal Kurt Koch.
"I warmly welcome you all to the celebration of the beatification of Fr Richard Henkes, also in the Pallottine community. We are happy that we can celebrate the beatification with so many guests here in Limburg and with Cardinal Koch, as the Holy Father's envoy, this is a very special day for us. I would like to greet all the people watching on the screens and the radios, here in Germany, but also especially in Poland and the Czech Republic. You are all following the broadcast and in prayer we are closely united with each other, beyond all language barriers. I wish us a good contemplative service. Let us pray together for the beatification of Fr Richard Henkes and for our support in our time."
The General Chapter of the Pallottines in 1947 in Rome advocated for beatification processes for the Polish and German martyrs of the Nazi period, including Father Henkes by name.
However, this initial impulse completely dissipated because the beatification of Vinzenz Pallotti and his subsequent canonization thirteen years later soon captured all the attention. Father Henkes was at risk of being forgotten.
A new strong impulse to beatify Father Henkes came from the former priest-prisoners of Dachau after their encounter with Pope John Paul II in Fulda in 1980.
In 1985, this group of priests submitted a request to the Bishop of Limburg to initiate a beatification process for Father Henkes. However, the Pallottines could not make a decision yet as they had five deaths to mourn due to Nazi violence. Nevertheless, some individuals, along with friends and relatives, formed the Richard Henkes Friendship Circle.
The breakthrough among the Pallottines came through two initiatives from the Czech Republic. The first one was the participation of Bishop František Radkovský of Plzen in the memorial ceremony for the fiftieth anniversary of Father Richard Henkes' death at the Pallottine Philosophical-Theological College in Vallendar in 1995. His clear statement was that Father Henkes should be beatified.
On 17th January 2001, he wrote a letter on behalf of the Czech Bishops' Conference to the Provincial of the Limburg Pallottine Province, expressing support for the beatification of Father Richard Henkes and promising their assistance. The Provincial Assembly in 2001 overwhelmingly accepted a corresponding proposal from the college.
A beatification (from the Latin beatus "blessed", "happy" and facere "to make", "to do") is a canonical procedure in the Roman Catholic Church, at the conclusion of which the Pope declares, after appropriate examination, that a deceased person may be called Blessed and publicly venerated as such. The prerequisites are either martyrdom or a heroic degree of virtue and - in the case that the deceased is not a martyr - proof of a miracle that was performed in response to the invocation of the blessed person and his or her intercession with God. A canonisation or beatification does not mean that a person is "transferred to heaven", but the Church thus expresses confidence that the person in question has already reached perfection with God. It thus also has liturgical significance in that it is no longer possible to pray for the blessed person, but with him or her, and to call upon him or her to intercede with God.
Vincent Pallotti (21 April 1795 – 22 January 1850) was an Italian ecclesiastic and a saint. Born in Rome, he was the founder of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate later to be known as the "Pious Society of Missions" (the Pallottines). The original name was restored in 1947. He is buried in the church of San Salvatore in Onda. He is considered the forerunner of Catholic Action. His feast day is 22 January. He was the uncle of Cardinal Luigi Pallotti (1829–1890).
The Pallottines, officially named the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Latin: Societas Apostolatus Catholici), abbreviated SAC, is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for men in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1835 by the Roman Catholic priest Saint Vincent Pallotti. Pallottines are part of the Union of Catholic Apostolate and are present in 45 countries on six continents. The Pallottines administer one of the largest churches in the world, the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire.
Following an agreement between the diocesan leadership and the Pallottines, and after necessary preparations, the solemn opening of the Episcopal Inquiry Process took place on April 25, 2003, at the Pallottine Church of Mary in Limburg. Bishop František Lobkowicz of Ostrava-Opava, along with a large number of believers, including 50 faithful and 3 priests from Strahovice/Strandorf, were present. The last living German concentration camp priest, Hermann Scheipers, also participated in the ceremony.
On January 23, 2007, the Bishop of Limburg celebrated the conclusion of the Episcopal Inquiry Process with a pontifical Mass at St. Mary's Church. Father Henkes remained steadfast during a time when many faltered. He preached the Word of God, whether convenient or inconvenient.
At the beginning of the Mass, Provincial Councilor Father Hans Joachim Winkens, alongside the Bishop, welcomed numerous participants from Father Henkes' family and hometown. The Pallottines and members of the affiliated laity association had also gathered in large numbers, including General Rector Father Friedrich Kretz from Rome and the new Provincial Father Hans-Peter Becker from Friedberg/Augsburg.
The procedure begins with the petition for beatification (supplex libellus) of the postulator to the competent bishop, which must contain: a critical biography of the candidate, in which those things which may stand in the way of the success of the procedure must not be concealed, an account of the observance of Christian virtues, signs of the reputation of his holiness and, if applicable, the circumstances of his martyrdom; all the original writings of the candidate which have appeared in print; a list of the witnesses to the procedure which is as complete as possible.
Hermann Joseph Scheipers (* 24 July 1913 in Ochtrup; † 2 June 2016 ibid) was a Roman Catholic priest and one of the last living spiritual inmates of Dachau concentration camp.
(c) 2003 Osiadly
With the transfer of the records to Rome, the bishop entrusted the postulator and former Provincial Father Norbert Hannappel. With a decree dated March 13, 2009, issued by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the validity of the records was recognized (Prot. N. 2493-3/07).
After the examination of the official documents by the various bodies of the Congregation, it was decided on December 11, 2018, to recommend to Pope Francis the beatification of Father Richard Henkes.
The Holy Father embraced this recommendation on December 22, 2018, and with an official announcement, declared the upcoming beatification of the Servant of God.
In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (Latin: Congregatio de Causis Sanctorum), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passing through the steps of a declaration of "heroic virtues" and beatification. After preparing a case, including the approval of miracles, the case is presented to the pope, who decides whether or not to proceed with beatification or canonization.
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics
Together with the postulator of the beatification process, Father Adam Golec SAC, and the relics custodian of the diocese, Professor Matthias Kloft, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg retrieved and examined the mortal remains of Father Richard Henkes on Tuesday, April 30.
Stonemasons opened the urn grave at the Pallottine Cemetery as part of a liturgical ceremony. After the beatification on Sunday, September 15, the remains will be laid to rest in a new location. Following the retrieval and examination, the remains were sealed. They will now be kept with dignity in the reliquary chamber of the bishop's residence until the beatification.
According to Church law, the process of beatification requires the creation of relics. The legal and canonical requirements for this are strict and include the presence of a medical professional to document the authenticity and condition of the mortal remains.
(c) 2020 - Timo Michael Kessler
"I warmly welcome you all to the celebration of the beatification of Fr Richard Henkes, also in the Pallottine community. We are happy that we can celebrate the beatification with so many guests here in Limburg and with Cardinal Koch, as the Holy Father's envoy, this is a very special day for us. I would like to greet all the people watching on the screens and the radios, here in Germany, but also especially in Poland and the Czech Republic. You are all following the broadcast and in prayer we are closely united with each other, beyond all language barriers. I wish us a good contemplative service. Let us pray together for the beatification of Fr Richard Henkes and for our support in our time."
(c) 2019 Bistum Limburg
The blessed and the saints are God's answers to the questions of us humans. And they are the best exegetes of the Gospel. For they have not only read and interpreted the Word of God; above all, they have testified to it with their own lives. This is especially true of Blessed Pallottine Father Richard Henkes who, during the typhus epidemic that broke out in the Dachau concentration camp in the transition between the years 1944 and 1945, voluntarily allowed himself to be locked up in quarantine block 17 in order to care for the prisoners affected by this serious disease, who became infected in the process and died in Dachau on 22 February 1945. Father Henkes' dedication of life to the point of death for others has been recognised by Pope Francis as martyrdom; and the Holy Father has decided that Father Henkes be beatified. Father Henkes stands before us as a martyr of charity who gave his life as a sacrifice for Christ and thus received a share in the cross of Jesus Christ.
(c) 2019 Image & sound: Diocese of Limburg / Editing: Timo Michael Kessler
Dear sisters and brothers,
Coincidence or providence? For me, it is a wonderful convergence that on September 15, 2019, during the Feast of the Cross of our diocese, we can celebrate the beatification of Father Richard Henkes in the Limburg Cathedral. His martyrdom in the Dachau concentration camp cannot be understood without the events of Golgotha. Therefore, when on September 15, the cross relic is presented for veneration in the sanctuary of our cathedral, alongside a relic of Father Henkes, it is a sign that every generation of Christians, each and every one of us, faces the challenge of following the cross and must prove ourselves in it.
(c) 2019 Bistum Limburg