Valeriu Gafencu

Valeriu Gafencu (24 January 1921 – 18 February 1952) was a Romanian Orthodox theologian and Legionnaire who was active during the Legionary Rebellion. Arrested by the Communist authorities, he died at Târgu Ocna Prison after being tortured for years.

Valeriu Gafencu
Gafencu on a 2021 stamp of Moldova
Personal details
Born(1921-01-24)24 January 1921
Sîngerei, Kingdom of Romania (now in Moldova)
Died18 February 1952(1952-02-18) (aged 31)
Târgu Ocna, Romanian People's Republic
DenominationRomanian Orthodox Christian
ParentsVasile Gafencu (father)

Known as the Saint of the Prisons (a nicknamed bestowed upon him by Nicolae Steinhardt), the Romanian Orthodox Church is considering his canonization.[1]

Biography
Cross erected in memory of detainees at Târgu Ocna Prison; Gafencu's photograph is at the base of the cross

Gafencu was born in 1921 in Sîngerei, at the time a city in Bessarabia, a region in the northeastern part of Romania (now in the Republic of Moldova). He attended high school in Bălţi, where Eugen Coșeriu, Sergiu Grossu, Vadim Pirogan, Ovidiu Creangă and Valentin Mândâcanu were his classmates.[2] Shortly after he graduated in 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and northern Bukovina; as a result, Gafencu and his family took refuge in Romania.

Gafencu is now an honorary citizen of the town of Târgu Ocna.[3]

References
  1. Valeriu Gafencu: “Elevii sunt un explozibil mai puternic decât dinamita!”. Consiliulul Local Tg. Ocna menține titlul de cetățean de onoare acordat acestuia post-mortem
  2. "Un apostol al Neamului Românesc". Literatura şi Arta.
  3. Alexandru Florian, Indiana University Press, 2018, Holocaust Public Memory in Postcommunist Romania, p. 194
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