Alexandru Rusu

Ordained a priest, he taught dogmatic theology in Blaj and directed Catholic publications such as Cultura Creștină and Unirea. After a brief engagement in politics as a deputy, he was appointed the first bishop of the new diocese of Maramureș in 1930 by Pope Pius XI. During the Second World War, he remained with his faithful despite the Hungarian occupation. In 1946, he was elected metropolitan of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church, but the pro-Soviet government refused to confirm his appointment.

Arrested on October 29, 1948, during the suppression of the Greek-Catholic Church by the communist regime, Bishop Rusu endured a long ordeal. He was incarcerated at Dragoslavele, Căldărușani, and then at the extermination prison of Sighetu Marmației. Placed under house arrest, he refused to break his union with Rome. Sentenced again in 1957 to 25 years of forced labor for high treason, he died from the effects of mistreatment on May 9, 1963, at Gherla prison, where he was secretly buried.

The diocesan process for the beatification of Alexandru Rusu and six other martyr bishops began in 1997. Pope Francis recognized their martyrdom in hatred of the faith on March 19, 2019. The beatification ceremony was presided over by Pope Francis on June 2, 2019, on the Field of Liberty in Blaj, before more than 60,000 faithful. His liturgical memorial is celebrated on June 2.

The spirituality of Bishop Rusu rests on his unwavering attachment to the Church of Rome and to the Pope, preferring a slow death in prison to apostasy. Nicknamed the 'dialectician with iron logic,' he defended religious freedom against totalitarianism. Today, he is honored as a pillar of Christian resistance in Eastern Europe, with several institutions and a bust inaugurated in 2024 in his hometown bearing his name.