The beatification of the Ulma family
The beatification took place at 10:00 a.m. local time (4:00 a.m. EST). This was probably the third most beautiful religious event in Polish history (the first and second was an election and canonization of John Paul II). The town of Markowa with a population of 4,000 saw 37,000 people come to take part in the Holly Mass, many of them on foot. (There are videos showing people walking on local roads toward the site.)
Someone in Polish media made a point by saying that "a tribute to the Ulma family is a tribute to the victory of good over evil and a tribute to humanity during the German occupation."
"May the sacrifice made by the family of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their children, who did not hesitate to give their lives to help eight people of Jewish origin, be for us and future generations a symbol of faithfulness to values that must never be betrayed even under threat of death," - wrote Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra on behalf of Pope Francis.
The first time in history
The beatification of the Ulma family is an unprecedented event because with one act of beatification, the whole family will be raised to the glory of the altars – parents Józef and Wiktoria Ulma together with their seven children. An additional unprecedented fact is that this act will also beatify the unborn child who was in the mother’s womb at the time of death, - wrote Archbishop Adam Szal – Metropolitan of Przemyśl.
Almost no mention in the world news
Out of five stories on Google about Poland today, three mention the beatification (including one that makes it a political stunt by Poland), one mentions upcoming elections, and one is a direct attack on a democratically elected government of Poland.
CNN doesn't mention it today. They did previously but made a significant error by saying newborn child instead of unborn. I am sure it's a simple mistake.
Fox News - nothing on the home page, nothing in the World section, NOTHING.
TheBaze (defenders of Christians and Jews) - nothing.
Breitbart - nothing.
Catholic News Agency - NOTHING.
Vatican News has the story of the Ulma family on the home page (right at the top).
German media: Apparently, at least according to some Polish politicians, none of the German media mentioned the event in Poland, except for DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur). Unfortunately, DPA chose to also attack Catholic Church and the Vatican, making it sound as if Nazis had more to do with the Vatican than with Germans: "... the role of the Vatican during the Nazi era remains controversial to this day."
If the Polish conservative government was trying to use the Beatification for their own political purposes, they did a bad job. In fact, that would qualify as the World's worst propaganda job. (And thank God that German media chose not to attack the Poles. Yet.)
