János Brenner

János Brenner, O.Cist (Hungarian: [ˈbrɛnɛr ˈjaːnoʃ]; religious name: Anasztáz Brenner; 17 December 1931 – 15 December 1957) was a Hungarian Catholic priest and member of the Cistercian Order. Brenner studied for the priesthood during a period of communist persecution of religious orders. Communist authorities came to suspect him of being critical of their regime; his success as a youth chaplain made him a threat. As a consequence, he was murdered by hired men who stabbed him 32 times and inflicted severe wounds to his head using canes. He died soon after having been hurled into a ditch in the woods. The beatification took place on 1 May 2018 in Szombathely.