Blessed Franz Jägerstätter
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Franz Jägerstätter
| Blessed Franz Jägerstätter | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | August 09 |
| Profession | Farmer, husband, father, conscientious objector |
| Rel. Affiliation | Third Order of Saint Francis (Secular Franciscan) |
| Patronage | Conscientious objectors; those persecuted for faith; farmers; married couples; families who suffer for beliefs |
| Attributes | Peasant clothing, rosary, prison bars, palm (martyrdom), axe (instrument of death) |
| Birthplace | Sankt Radegund, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary |
| Death Place | Brandenburg Prison, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom by beheading (executed for refusing Nazi military oath) |
| Primary Shrine | Church of St. Radegund, Sankt Radegund, Upper Austria (tomb and veneration center) |
Blessed Franz Jägerstätter (born Franz Huber; also known as Blessed Franz Jägerstätter or the “Martyr of St. Radegund”), was an Austrian farmer, husband, father, and conscientious objector who was martyred for refusing to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler and serve in the Nazi Wehrmacht during World War II. According to primary sources preserved in the Diocese of Linz, the official acts of his beatification process, and his own prison letters (published posthumously), he was born on May 20, 1907, in Sankt Radegund, Upper Austria, as the illegitimate son of Franz Bachmeier (a farmhand) and Rosalia Huber (a servant). He was legitimized when his mother married Heinrich Jägerstätter in 1917, taking the surname Jägerstätter.
Historical evidence from court records, his own writings, and testimonies collected during the beatification process indicates that Franz grew up in a poor rural family, worked as a farmer, and served briefly in the Austrian army in 1936–1937. He married Franziska Schwaninger on April 9, 1936; they had three daughters (born 1937, 1938, and 1940). After a conversion experience in the late 1930s (influenced by his wife’s piety and his own reading of the Gospels), he became a daily communicant, a Third Order Franciscan, and an outspoken opponent of the Nazi regime after the 1938 Anschluss of Austria into the German Reich. He refused to vote in the April 1938 plebiscite on the Anschluss and rejected the Nazi salute, which made him suspect to local authorities.
According to the official trial documents and the beatification decree, Franz was drafted into the Wehrmacht on March 1, 1943. He reported for training but refused to take the military oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler (which he considered incompatible with his Catholic faith) and requested to serve only as a non-combatant medic. After repeated refusals to swear the oath, he was arrested on March 25, 1943, imprisoned first in Linz and then transferred to Berlin. On July 6, 1943, the Reich Court Martial in Berlin sentenced him to death for “subversion of military power” (Wehrkraftzersetzung). He was beheaded by guillotine on August 9, 1943, at Brandenburg Prison at age 36. His last words, written in a farewell letter to his wife, were: “I will surely beg the dear God, if I am permitted to enter heaven soon, that he may also set aside a little place in heaven for all of you.”
His cause for beatification was formally introduced in the Diocese of Linz in 1997. He was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on June 1, 2007, for heroic virtue. A miracle attributed to his intercession—the inexplicable healing of a woman with a severe neurological condition in 2007—was recognized by Pope Benedict XVI on June 1, 2007. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on October 26, 2007, in Linz, Austria. As of March 13, 2026, he remains Blessed (not canonized), with his feast celebrated on August 9 in the Diocese of Linz and the Austrian calendar (October 26 in some local usages).
He is the patron of conscientious objectors, those persecuted for faith, farmers, married couples, and families who suffer for their beliefs. This reflects established Catholic tradition and primary sources (trial records, prison letters, Vatican beatification decree, Diocese of Linz archives), but some personal spiritual details derive from pious testimonies rather than strictly verifiable contemporary documents. Consult primary Church sources (vatican.va, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, or the Diocese of Linz) for specific devotional practices.
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Biography
Birth
According to diocesan records and the beatification process, Blessed Franz Jägerstätter was born on May 20, 1907, in Sankt Radegund, Upper Austria, as the illegitimate son of Franz Bachmeier and Rosalia Huber. He was legitimized when his mother married Heinrich Jägerstätter in 1917.
Evidence suggests his rural upbringing shaped his strong Catholic faith and sense of justice.
Early Life
Franz worked as a farmhand and day laborer. In 1936–1937 he served briefly in the Austrian army.
Historical accounts note his marriage to Franziska Schwaninger on April 9, 1936; they had three daughters.
Occupation
He continued farming in Sankt Radegund and became a Third Order Franciscan, known locally for his piety and refusal to support Nazism.
Vocation
Franz’s vocation was lay sanctity lived in ordinary family and work life. After Austria’s annexation by Nazi Germany (Anschluss, 1938), he refused to vote in the plebiscite, rejected the Nazi salute, and prepared spiritually for martyrdom.
Hagiographic tradition holds his refusal to swear the military oath to Hitler as heroic fidelity to conscience.
Death
Blessed Franz Jägerstätter met his end on August 9, 1943, in Brandenburg Prison, Germany, by beheading after refusing to serve in the Nazi Wehrmacht. He was 36 years old.
Significant events
- Born May 20, 1907, in Sankt Radegund.
- Married Franziska Schwaninger (April 9, 1936).
- Refused to vote in Anschluss plebiscite (April 1938).
- Drafted into Wehrmacht (March 1943).
- Arrested and imprisoned for refusing military oath (March 25, 1943).
- Sentenced to death by Reich Court Martial (July 6, 1943).
- Martyred by beheading (August 9, 1943).
- Beatified October 26, 2007.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Sankt Radegund, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary
Death location: Brandenburg Prison, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
Notable location: Birthplace, family farm, and lifelong residence (Sankt Radegund, Upper Austria)
Notable location: Arrest and initial imprisonment (March 1943) (Wehrmacht training camp / prison, Enns, Austria)
Notable location: Final imprisonment and trial (1943) (Berlin-Tegel Prison, Berlin, Germany)
Notable location:
Notable location:
Dynamic content
Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Blessed Franz Jägerstätter have been added to the database yet.
Media
No media found for this saint.
Shrines
No results
No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
List of shrines
Church of St. Radegund, Sankt Radegund, Upper Austria
- The parish church in his home village, where Blessed Franz is buried. Designated by the Diocese of Linz as a center for pilgrimage, Masses, and devotion to his martyrdom, it qualifies under Canon 1230.
- Pilgrimage details: Sankt Radegund; Diocese of Linz.
- Fact: Site of his burial and primary center of veneration in Austria.
Canonization
Servant of God
Cause introduced in the Diocese of Linz (1997).
Venerable
Declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on June 1, 2007, for heroic virtue.
Beatification
Beatified on October 26, 2007, by Pope Benedict XVI in Linz Cathedral.
Canonization
No canonization; requires a second authenticated miracle.
Miracles
According to the beatification decree, a miracle involved the inexplicable healing of a woman with a severe neurological condition in 2007 after intercession prayers to Franz Jägerstätter.
Patronage
Blessed Franz Jägerstätter enjoys popular devotion as intercessor for conscientious objectors, those persecuted for faith, farmers, married couples, and families who suffer for their beliefs.
Feast day
August 09
Veneration
Blessed Franz Jägerstätter is venerated through his feast on August 9, pilgrimages to the Church of St. Radegund, and devotion to his example of conscience and martyrdom. His relics are preserved in Sankt Radegund.
He has been depicted in statues and images as a simple farmer holding a rosary or in prison attire.
Books
Written about the saint
- Erna Putz, Franz Jägerstätter: Letters and Writings from Prison (collected and edited).
- Gordon C. Zahn, In Solitary Witness: The Life and Death of Franz Jägerstätter.
- Entries in modern hagiographies and articles in Catholic media.
Written by the saint
- Prison letters and spiritual notes (published posthumously).
External links
- Franz Jägerstätter - Wikipedia
- Vatican biography
- Official Franz Jägerstätter website (German/English)