Johannes Prassek

After his ordination, Father Prassek first exercised his ministry for about two years as a vicar in the parish of Wittenburg, in Mecklenburg, where he was appreciated for his pastoral zeal and his closeness to the faithful. In April 1939, he was sent to Lübeck as the first vicar (chaplain) of the Sacred Heart parish (Herz-Jesu-Kirche). In Lübeck, Johannes Prassek distinguished himself by his pastoral dynamism, particularly among young people and women. A charismatic and courageous preacher, he did not hesitate to address in his homilies and theological discussion groups the fundamental contradictions between the Christian faith and National Socialist ideology. He openly denounced the injustices of the Nazi regime, notably the state euthanasia program targeting disabled and mentally ill people (which he described as state murder). To provide spiritual and human support to the Polish forced laborers deported to Lübeck, he learned the Polish language in secret, defying the regime's strict prohibitions that forbade any pastoral contact with them. He helped them materially and spiritually, going so far as to secretly bless marriages. During the terrible bombing of Lübeck by the Royal Air Force on March 28, 1942, he actively participated in the rescue of the wounded from a destroyed hospital, which earned him the Air Defense Decoration (Luftschutz-Ehrenzeichen) two weeks before his arrest.

Johannes Prassek's path to martyrdom was marked by a profound ecumenical friendship. During the summer of 1941, he met the Evangelical-Lutheran pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink of the Luther Church in Lübeck. Although Stellbrink had initially been a sympathizer of National Socialism, he had become a fierce opponent of the regime. The two men formed a deep friendship and decided to collaborate. Prassek introduced Stellbrink to his fellow Catholic priests of the Sacred Heart parish, Hermann Lange and Eduard Müller. Together, the four clergymen (the three Catholic priests and the Lutheran pastor) formed a group of spiritual opposition. They exchanged information from banned foreign radio stations, wrote and distributed leaflets, and copied the famous sermons of Bishop Clemens August von Galen of Münster, which denounced the persecution of the Church and the euthanasia of disabled persons. Warned by parishioners worried about the risks he was taking, Johannes Prassek replied: "We priests must at least have the courage to speak the truth." The Gestapo, which was closely monitoring the parish's activities, infiltrated a young spy posing as a convert eager to embrace Catholicism. Thanks to this denunciation, Johannes Prassek was arrested on May 18, 1942. His colleagues Hermann Lange and Eduard Müller, as well as Pastor Stellbrink, were also arrested shortly thereafter.

After more than a year of rigorous detention at the Marstall prison in Lübeck, during which he demonstrated remarkable strength of spirit and charity toward his fellow prisoners, Johannes Prassek was brought before the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) during the trial of the Lübeck Christians (Lübecker Christenprozess) in June 1943. He was charged with undermining military morale (Wehrkraftzersetzung), the crime of listening to foreign radio (Rundfunkverbrechen), and aiding the enemy (Feindbegünstigung). On June 24, 1943, the court sentenced him to death, along with his companions Hermann Lange, Eduard Müller, and Karl Friedrich Stellbrink. Despite requests for clemency, notably from the Bishop of Osnabrück and the Apostolic Nuncio, the sentence was upheld. On November 10, 1943, at the Holstenglacis prison in Hamburg, the four martyrs were executed by guillotine, just minutes apart. Witnesses reported that the blood of the four clergymen mingled on the floor of the guillotine, becoming a powerful symbol of the ecumenism of blood. The beatification process for the three Catholic priests was opened in 2004 by the Archbishop of Hamburg, Mgr. Werner Thissen. On July 1, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith). The beatification ceremony for Johannes Prassek, Hermann Lange, and Eduard Müller was celebrated on June 25, 2011, in Lübeck, in front of the Sacred Heart Church, by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Benedict XVI. During this highly ecumenical celebration, the memory of the Lutheran pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink was solemnly honored, and the Lutheran Bishop of Hamburg delivered his eulogy.

The spirituality of Johannes Prassek is characterized by an absolute trust in God, a profound joy, and an unfailing love for the Church and the truth. His farewell letters, written a few hours before his execution, bear witness to an extraordinary serenity in the face of death. He wrote to his family in particular: "I am so happy, I can hardly explain how happy I am. God is so good to have given me several beautiful years to be His priest. Do not be sad! What awaits me is joy and happiness...". In another letter, he wrote: "How good God is to take away all my fear and to give me joy and the desire for heaven".

The legacy of the Lübeck martyrs is above all ecumenical. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that their friendship and their shared martyrdom constituted an "impressive testimony to the ecumenism of prayer and suffering".

In tribute to his sacrifice, several places today bear his name in Germany, notably the Catholic parish "Blessed Johannes Prassek" (Pfarrei Seliger Johannes Prassek) in Hamburg, as well as the Johannes Prassek Park (Johannes-Prassek-Park) in Hamburg-Barmbek, inaugurated in June 2011. A stumbling stone (Stolperstein) has also been placed in his honor in Osnabrück and Hamburg.