Eugene Bossilkov

Upon returning to Bulgaria, Father Eugene Bossilkov was appointed parish priest of Bardarski Geran in 1934. A brilliant and appreciated preacher, he distinguished himself through his pastoral dynamism among the youth, for whom he organized sports activities, reading circles, and catechetical programs. During the Second World War, he distinguished himself by saving the lives of many persecuted Jews.

After the invasion of Bulgaria by the Soviet army in September 1944 and the installation of a communist regime, the Catholic Church faced severe persecution. In 1946, at the request of his bishop, he preached a popular mission throughout the diocese to strengthen the faith of the faithful. On August 6, 1946, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Nicopolis, and was subsequently consecrated Bishop of the same diocese on October 7, 1947, in the Cathedral of Ruse.

In 1948, Bishop Bossilkov traveled to Rome where he was received in an audience by Pope Pius XII. Although aware of the extreme risks he faced by returning to Bulgaria, he refused to remain in Italy, declaring that he wished to suffer with his flock. The communist repression intensified: seizure of Church property, expulsion of the apostolic delegate, and the closure of congregations. On July 16, 1952, Bishop Bossilkov was arrested by the political police along with other priests and laypeople. Subjected to violent physical and psychological torture in prison, he refused to renounce his communion with the Pope or to lead a national Church subservient to the regime. During a rigged political trial that opened in September 1952, he was falsely accused of espionage for the Vatican and conspiracy against the State. On October 3, 1952, the court pronounced his death sentence by firing squad.

Bishop Eugene Bossilkov was executed by firing squad on the night of November 11, 1952, at 11:30 p.m., in the courtyard of the Sofia Central Prison, along with three Bulgarian Assumptionist priests: Fathers Kamen Vitchev, Pavel Djidjov, and Josaphat Chichkov. His body was thrown into a mass grave and has never been found.

For decades, the communist regime maintained secrecy regarding his execution. It was only in 1975, during an official visit to the Vatican by Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov to Pope Paul VI, that his death in prison was officially confirmed.

On March 15, 1998, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Bishop Eugene Bossilkov blessed in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Recognized as a martyr of the faith (killed in odium fidei), his beatification did not require the recognition of a miracle. He is the first martyr of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe to be raised to the altars.

The spirituality of Bishop Bossilkov is deeply marked by the Passionist charism, centered on the contemplation of the Passion of Christ and the Cross. Faithful to his fourth religious vow, he lived his own martyrdom as an intimate union with the sufferings of Christ. During his last meeting in prison with his niece, Sister Gabrielle, he confided to her: "I feel that the Lord has given me the grace and I accept death," asking her to convey to everyone that he remained faithful "to the Church and to the Pope."

In a letter written shortly before his arrest, he wrote these prophetic words: "The traces of our blood will open the way to a splendid future; and even if we do not see it ourselves, others will harvest what we have sown in suffering." His legacy remains alive in Bulgaria, where he is venerated as a symbol of religious freedom and heroic fidelity to the Gospel.