Cardinal Marcello Semeraro to beatify 3 martyred priests in Bolonia

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro will preside over the beatification of three priests killed during the 1944 Monte Sole massacres in Bologna this Sunday, September 27. Acting as a papal delegate, Semeraro will lead the Mass at 16:00 at the Basilica of San Petronio.

The three priests are Ubaldo Marchioni, Elia Comini, and Martino Capelli. They served their ministry in the area and remained with the population when the zone was caught between troops and the Resistance. They were killed during massacres perpetrated by the SS in Monte Sole between late September and early October 1944.

The Church recognizes their deaths as martyrdom. A decree issued by Pope Leo XIV on November 21, 2025, stated Ubaldo Marchioni was killed for his fidelity to Christ and the Church, declaring his martyrdom proven.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the archbishop of Bologna, will concelebrate the Mass with other bishops and priests. Participants include Carlos Luis Suárez Codorniú, the superior general of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Fabio Attard, the rector major of the Salesians.