St. Titus Brandsma

Titus Brandsma, O.Carm., was a Dutch Carmelite friar, Catholic priest and professor of philosophy. Brandsma was vehemently opposed to Nazi ideology and spoke out against it many times before the Second World War. He was imprisoned in the infamous Dachau concentration camp, where he died. He has been beatified by the Catholic Church as a martyr of the faith.

But Titus Brandsma was also an outstanding communicator who combined passion for the Catholic tradition with a deep love of the actual world he was living in. He worked as a journalist and became an ecclesiastical advisor to Catholic lay journalists in 1935. Embracing the media available in his time, he understood that the Church would have to reach out to the people in simple and honest words. Titus Brandsma sought compromise and reform wherever necessary but never gave up core values of his faith – not even on pain of persecution and penalty.

Therefore, Titus Brandsma has became a role-model for committed journalists who do not want to yield to political or social pressure. The article “The global significance of Titus Brandsma for journalism” published by the Collection of Carmelite Resources in Rome, Italy, highlights some of our own spiritual and professional fundamentals.

In publishing the Brandsma Review, we honour Titus Brandsma’s achievements and follow in his footsteps.