Venerable Servant of God Eduard Profittlich (1890–1942)
Member of the Society of Jesus, Titular Archbishop of Adrianople, Apostolic Administrator of Estonia.
His martyrdom became known only many years after his tragic death, following the collapse of the Soviet regime. In the prison where he was taken in 1941, his health deteriorated due to harsh living conditions and deprivation.
He was subjected to multiple tortures, yet he consistently responded by affirming that his sole mission had been the religious formation of the faithful entrusted to him.
Eduard Profittlich was born on September 11, 1890, in Birresdorf, Germany, into a farming family and grew up in a large household. Having completed his classical studies, he entered the seminary in Trier in 1912, but the following year, feeling drawn to the spirituality of the Society of Jesus, he was admitted to the Jesuit novitiate in Heerenberg, Netherlands. With the outbreak of the First World War, he was drafted into the German army and assigned to the medical service. After the war, he resumed his studies in philosophy and theology and was ordained a priest on August 27, 1922. He was then sent to Poland, where he obtained doctoral degrees in philosophy and theology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
Later, he was sent to Estonia as part of the Jesuit mission to the East and was entrusted with the pastoral care of the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul in Tallinn. On May 11, 1931, Pope Pius XI appointed him Apostolic Administrator of Estonia. Profittlich committed himself to rebuilding the local Catholic community, which was then quite small. He developed a pastoral plan, improved the formation of the local clergy, established new parishes, and invited priests, religious brothers, and sisters from Poland and Czechoslovakia to engage in evangelization and to support the development of the local Christian community. In November 1936, Pope Pius XI appointed him Titular Archbishop of Adrianople, and in December of the same year, he received episcopal consecration.
Following the Soviet occupation of Estonia on June 17, 1940, nearly all priests were arrested. Profittlich, who had the possibility of returning to his homeland, chose instead to remain in Estonia to stay with his faithful. He was arrested on June 27, 1941, and deported to Kirov, Russia, where he was repeatedly tortured. He responded by declaring that his only mission had been the religious formation of the faithful entrusted to him. He was sentenced to death, but he perished in prison due to the suffering he endured even before the sentence could be carried out, on February 22, 1942.
The certainty of his martyrdom became known only many years after his tragic death, following the fall of the Soviet regime. In the prison where he was taken in 1941, his health deteriorated due to suffering and harsh living conditions.
As for the formal recognition of his martyrdom ex parte persecutoris (on the part of his persecutors), his arrest was motivated by the Soviet regime’s aggressively anti-religious stance, as is evident from the interrogation records. The primary reason for his execution was, therefore, odium fidei – hatred of the faith.
As for the formal recognition of his martyrdom ex parte Servi Dei (on the part of the Servant of God), he deliberately chose to remain in Estonia, fully aware of the dangers he faced, particularly due to his German heritage. Writing to his family on February 8, 1941, he expressed his firm resolve to face whatever would come and to offer his freedom and his life for Christ. In a letter addressed to the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Luigi Maglione, he entrusted his fate to God, fully confident that the Lord would remain at his side. The interrogation records clearly demonstrate his unwavering faith and his understanding of human dignity and freedom, which stood in stark contrast to communist ideology.
Eduard Profittlich is well known in Estonia, and his veneration is widespread. There are also testimonies of graces received through his intercession.
The diocesan inquiry was conducted in the Apostolic Administration of Estonia from May 29, 2018, to March 5, 2019, with a supplementary diocesan inquiry in Tallinn from July 12 to October 16, 2019. The legal validity of the diocesan investigations was confirmed on June 12, 2020. The historical consultation took place on May 9, 2023, the theological advisors’ special meeting on March 12, 2024, and the ordinary session of the Cardinals and Bishops on December 10, 2024.
[From the official biography (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.)]
– Information page (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.)
tr/ai