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Karl Leisner
German Roman Catholic priest and martyr (1915–1945)
Feast: 12 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Karl Leisner was born at Rees on the Rhine on 28 February 1915 and grew up at Kleve, always top of his class. Despite clashes with the Gestapo, which dissolved Catholic associations in 1937, he continued his studies and was ordained deacon on 25 March 1938.
Recovering from illness in a sanatorium, he was arrested for his public profession of faith and service to souls and deported to concentration camps. He was ordained priest inside Dachau. Freed at last, he died of what he had suffered on 12 August 1945, aged thirty.
The miracles
As a martyr, beatified without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A young deacon ordained priest secretly in Dachau, who gave his life for his faith.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Karl Leisner
- Wikidata Q62949 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Karl Leisner (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.