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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)
Died	18 February 1952(1952-02-18) (aged 31) Târgu Ocna, Romanian People's Republic
Denomination	Romanian Orthodox Christian
Parents	Vasile Gafencu (father)

Valeriu Gafencu (24 January 1921 – 18 February 1952) was a member of the Iron Guard who was active during the Legionnaires' rebellion. Arrested by the state authorities in 1941, he died 11 years later at Târgu Ocna Prison.

He was declared "Saint of the Prisons" by theologian Nicolae Steinhardt for his "exemplary Christian conduct and devotion to those in suffering", and the Romanian Orthodox Church was reportedly considering his canonization in 2013.

Biography

Gafencu was born in 1921 in Sîngerei, at the time a city in Bessarabia, a region in the northeastern part of the Kingdom of Romania (now in the Republic of Moldova). He attended the Ion Creangă High School in Bălți, where Eugen Coșeriu, Sergiu Grossu, Vadim Pirogan, Ovidiu Creangă, and Valentin Mândâcanu were his classmates. 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Gafencu was declared an honorary citizen of the town of Târgu Ocna in 2009, but the decision was rescinded in 2013 due to his participation in the Legionnaires' rebellion in January 1941.

References

1. ^ Popa, Cristinel C. (31 May 2013). "Valeriu Gafencu: "Elevii sunt un explozibil mai puternic decât dinamita!". Consiliulul Local Tg. Ocna menține titlul de cetățean de onoare acordat acestuia post-mortem". Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). Retrieved 21 February 2023.
2. "Un apostol al Neamului Românesc". Literatura și Arta.
3. Alexandru Florian, Indiana University Press, 2018, Holocaust Public Memory in Postcommunist Romania, p. 194
4. "Consilierii locali din Târgu-Ocna i-au retras titlul de cetățean de onoare lui Valeriu Gafencu - "Sfântul Închisorilor"". Ziarul de Bacău (in Romanian). 25 June 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2021.

• 1921 births
• 1952 deaths
• Romanian collaborators with Nazi Germany
• Romanian people of Moldovan descent
• Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church
• Members of the Iron Guard
• Inmates of Aiud prison
• Inmates of Pitești prison
• People from Sîngerei District
• Prisoners who died in Securitate custody
• Romanian people who died in prison custody
• Inmates of Târgu Ocna Prison