(ANS – Albiano Magra) – On Thursday, January 8, 2026, the parish of Saint Martin Bishop in Albiano Magra, in the Province of Massa-Carrara, celebrated the Blessed Titus Zeman, whose Liturgical Memory was on January 8th. The commemoration is part of the initiative “To YOU for YOU with JESUS” Eucharistic Adoration for Vocations, of the Albiano-Montedivalli Pastoral Unit.

Many of the faithful took part in several periods of personal Eucharistic adoration. This was followed by Holy Mass, celebrated in the parish church by the parish priest, Fr. Fabio Arduino, in the presence of the ex ossibus relic of Blessed Titus Zeman (1915–1969), a Salesian priest.

The Relics of the Martyrs

The relic is kept in the old village of Albiano, in the Oratory of St. Anthony Abbot, at the foot of the statue of St. John Bosco, together with the relics of Blessed Stephen Sándor (1914–1953), a Salesian Brother, and Blessed Bartolomé Blanco Márquez (1914–1936), a Salesian Cooperator.

All three were martyrs who died in odium fidei at the hands of the totalitarian regimes of the last century, in Slovakia, Hungary, and Spain, respectively.

The “Martyr of Vocations

Blessed Titus Zeman is known as the “martyr of vocations” because, after escaping the so-called “Night of the Barbarians” (April 13–14, 1950), he chose to accompany several young confreres across the Iron Curtain toward Turin, so that they might become priests.

He died on January 8, 1969, after enduring arrest, torture, twelve years of imprisonment, and nearly five years under house arrest.

Final Blessing

The faithful of Albiano Magra thus celebrated his liturgical memorial, and at the conclusion of the Eucharistic celebration, a solemn blessing was imparted with the relics of the three martyrs.