This is a story of a person who spread his blood and his writing in ink, truly a living martyr of our times. Cardinal Jan Korec (1924-2015) was a Jesuit priest who was born in Czechoslovakia under a communist regime. He could not preach in public, was arrested and accused of betrayal and was condemned to 12 years in prison with hard labor. After he was released from prison, he could only do manual work. In spite of his suffering he ordained 120 priests without getting caught. In 1969 he met Pope St Paul VI in Rome, and the beloved Pope gave him his ring, his own pectoral cross, his mitre and crosier which he was given when he was made Archbishop of Milan years earlier. Cardinal Korec was able to create a network of groups of students in Bratislava, led by lay Catholics. He also became a prolific writer of underground literature, and in spite of being blocked, he was able to write 70 books. When he visited Rome for the Jubilee 2000, he went to the catacombs and lit candles for those who had persecuted him, and prayed for them. He was made a Cardinal in 1991, and died on October 21, 2015, aged 91. His whole life was characterized by the blood he shed and the ink he used to write messages of hope and love.
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