page_title: Iuliu Hossu
section_title: Education and priesthood
hierarchical_section_title: Iuliu Hossu / Life / Education and priesthood
caption_attribution_description: English: Basilio Hosszu(1866–1916), Bishop of the Diocese of Lugoj of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1903 to 1911; Bishop of the Diocese of Gherla, Armenopoli, Szamos-Ujvár of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1911 to 1916. Deutsch: Basil Hossu(1866–1916), Bischof von Lugoj der Rumänisch griechisch-katholischen Kirche von 1903-1911).Bischof von Gherla, Armenopoli, Szamos-Ujvár der Rumänisch griechisch-katholischen Kirche von 1911-1916
context_page_description: Iuliu Hossu was a Romanian Greek-Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Cluj-Gherla. Pope Paul VI elevated Hossu to the rank of cardinal in pectore, that is, secretly, in 1969 but did not publish his appointment until after Hossu's death. The Communist authorities arrested Bishop Hossu on 28 October 1948. From 1950 to 1955 he was detained as political prisoner at the Sighet prison. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest and died in 1970.
  Pope Francis confirmed Hossu and six other prelates' beatification in 2019 and it was celebrated in Blaj, Romania on 2 June 2019. Pope Francis personally presided over the beatification as well.
context_section_description: Iuliu Hossu was born in 1885 in Milaș in the then-Austro-Hungarian empire to Ioan Hossu (1856–???) and Victoria Măriuţiu. His brothers were Vasile (a barrister) and Traian (a doctor) and Ioan (an engineer). His paternal grandparents were Vasile Hossu (1831–89) and Maria Sebeni; his paternal cousin was Iustin Hossu. A nephew was Stefan Hossu. His paternal aunts were Alecsa and Nicolae Hossu (1859–1914). His great-grandfather was Iosif Hossu (1822–46) and before him were Nicolae (1768–1841) and Petre (c. 1525).
  Hossu studied at the ecclesial school in Cluj and later in Budapest. His grade four studies were overseen at a Roman Catholic school in Târgu Mureş while grade five to eight was spent at a Greek-Catholic school in Blaj. He also studied at the Vienna college in Austria and later at the Pontifical Urbanian Athenaeum in Rome where he went on to obtain doctorates in philosophical studies in 1906 and in theological studies in 1908.
  His uncle Vasile Hossu (30.01.1866–13.01.1916) ordained him to the priesthood on 27 March 1910. He completed further studies from 1910 to 1911 and served as an archivist and a librarian. From 1911 to 1914 he served as the personal aide to the Bishop of Gherla (his uncle Vasile) and became friends with Prime Minister István Tisza. He later served as a chaplain to the Romanian soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian armed forces during World War I between 1914 and 1917. His brothers Vasile and Traian were mobilized as soldiers during the war while his brother Ioan was made a rail officer at the Oradea station. His cousin Iustin fought and died on the Serbian front. The death of his cousin prompted him to join as a chaplain so the new lieutenant left in December 1914 from Timișoara to Vienna where he tended to the soldiers.
caption: His uncle Vasile who ordained him as a priest.
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