Maria Restituta Kafka
1894-1943 20th century Feast day: March 30
The quiet refusal to give way on what is essential, even to the gift of one's life.
Who was Maria Restituta Kafka?
A Franciscan sister and head nurse in a Vienna hospital, known for her plain speech and devotion. When the Nazis demanded that crucifixes be removed from the rooms she had opened, she refused. Denounced and condemned for circulating a writing hostile to the regime, she was guillotined in 1943, praying for her executioners.
In their own words
I have lived for Christ; I want to die for Christ.
No one can take the faith from us.