French jocist martyrs to be beatified

Jun 21, 2025

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has recognised the martyrdom of more than twenty French jocist lay leaders as well as chaplains and seminarians linked to the YCW.

Pope Leo XIV approved the decree, which also recognised the martyrdom of many more French lay leaders and priests from other movements including the Scouts, and the Young Christian Students (YCS).

Lay YCW leaders on the Vatican list were:

Jean Lépicier (1921-1945), died at Buchenwald;

Bernard Lemaire (1920-1944), died of typhus at Buchenwald;

Maurice Grandet (1920-1944), died of typhus at Buchenwald;

René Ponsin (1923-1945), died at Buchenwald; Claude-Colbert Lebeau (1922-1945), died at Zöschen;

Jean Chavet (1922-1945), died of typhus at Mauthausen;

André Parsy (1922-1944), interned at Zöschen, died at Trebitz;

André Vallée (1919-1945), died at Flossenbürg;

Henri Marrannes (1923-1945), died in Zwickau;

Louis Pourtois (1919-1945), died in Mauthausen; Camille Millet (1922-1945), died in Flossenbürg;

Marcel Carrier (1922-1945), died in Neustadt during the “death march”;

Alfredo Dall’Oglio (1921-1944), Italian naturalized French, died in Wuhlheide; Marcel Touquet (1914-1945), died in Ravensbrück;

Lucien Croci (1919-1945), died in Barth;

Jean Mestre (1924-1944), died shortly after his arrest;

Jean Perriolat (1920-1945), died in Mauthausen;

René Rouzé (1922-1945), died in Dora-Mittelbau;

Henri Euzenat (1920-1945), who died at Dachau;

Eugène Lemoine (1920-1945) (also a Scout), died at Zöschen;

Bernard Morizot (1924-1945) (also a Scout), interned at Buchenwald and shot.

YCS lay leaders:

Jean Préhu (1920-1945), who was also a Scout, died at Dachau;

Jean Chavet (1922-1945), died of typhus at Mauthausen.

Priests linked to the YCW were:

René Giraudet (1907-1945), interned at Bergen-Belsen, sick with typhus, died in Paris;

Victor Dillard (1897-1945), who died at the Dachau concentration camp:

Louis Doumain (1920-1944), died at the Zöschen concentration camp;

And the jocist seminarians were:

Roger Vallée (1920-1944), who died at Mauthausen;

Jean Tinturier (1921-1945), who died at Mauthausen.

In addition to the French jocist martyrs, many Belgian JOC and KAJ leaders and chaplains also lost their lives during World War II, including lay co-founders, Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet.

Memorial card for Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet

In Hungary, Blessed Sara Salkahazi, who was a chaplain to the Girls YCW movement, was killed for her role in saving the lives of many Jewish children.