Dubbed ‘a dangerous little friar’, Titus Brandsma’s spirited defence of the freedom of the press against Nazism led to death in Dachau. A powerful voice for Catholic journalism, his activism resonates today. By Amanda C. Dickie.

Journalist and broadcaster

On 15 May 2022, a Dutch Carmelite friar was one of ten saints newly created by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square, Rome. A man ahead of his time in many ways, he saw the media as a means of modern evangelisation and was a pioneer of ecumenism.

Proclaimed as Martyr for a free press at the time of his beatification in 1985, the life and death of Titus Brandmsa is mirrored in events in our own time – control and suppression of a free press by superpowers and the death of courageous journalists seeking to proclaim the truth, confronting brutality and distortion of news by ruthless regimes, are all occurring now. ‘To win the world for Christ one must have the courage to come in conflict with it’, Brandsma declared. His words resonate today as journalists face danger and conflict across the world. They can find courage and inspiration in Titus Brandsma.