Oss, Netherlands Dedicated Monument to Long Time Resident St. Titus Brandsma

The city of Oss is closely linked to the figure of Tito Brandsma. He lived there after his return from Rome in 1909 until 1923, when he moved to Nijmegen to teach at the newly established Catholic University Nijmegen (now Radbound University).

It was in Oss that he edited the local newspaper (De Stad Oss) for several years, founded a school, and worked generously in the pastoral field. He has sometimes been called “de Friese Brabander” (“the Frisian from Brabant”), [Oss being located in the province of North Brabant] and was named an honorary citizen in a solemn ceremony at the Oss Town Hall in November 2015.

A few days ago, a new and unusual monument dedicated to Titus Brandsma was unveiled in Oss. It consists of three pairs of glasses placed in the center of the “Titus Brandsmaplein.” Each pair represents a different aspect of the Carmelites life: educator, journalist, and Carmelite.

The artists' idea (in addition to paying tribute to the multifaceted Carmelite) is to “look at the city through the lenses of Fr. Tito.”

July 27 | Memorial

A new awareness of Thy love
Encompasses my heart:
Sweet Jesus, I in Thee and Thou
In me shall never part.

No grief shall fall my way but I
Shall see thy grief-filled eyes;
The lonely way that Thou once walked
Has made me sorrow-wise.

All trouble is a white-lit joy
That lights my darkest day;
Thy love has turned to brightest light
This night-like way.

If I have Thee alone,
The hours will bless
With still, cold hands of love
My utter loneliness.

Stay with me, Jesus, only stay;
I shall not fear
If, reaching out my hand,
I feel Thee near.

Translated by Fr. Gervase Toelle, O. Carm.

To read more ...

Invitation to the Second Biennial Congress of the Titus Brandsma Circle

Rome, November 27-29, 2025

Registration is open for participants of the next congress of the Titus Brandsma circle. Please register via our website: https://titusbrandsmacircle.org

Please find the program here. It is also available on our website:

https://titusbrandsmacircle.org/program-congress-2025/

The fee for the conference, your stay in Instituto Maria SS. Bambina, the meals which are mentioned in the program, the tours, including transfer and entrance, coffee and tea comes to € 590 / US$ 670 for members of the Titus Brandsma Circle who paid their contribution this year and € 640 / US$ 727 for those who are not members or who did not pay their contribution.

Please transfer your conference fee to the following bank account:

Istituto per le Opere di Religione, Cortile Sisto V – 00120 – Città del Vaticano, giving TITUS BRANDSMA CIRCLE, account number 12918060, IBAN:  VA62001000000012918060, BIC: IOPRVAVX or IOPRVAVXXXX.

Please transfer half of the full amount, that is € 295.00 / € 320.00 by the middle of June at the latest. The other half of the full amount can be transferred at the end of September.  

The membership fee for the Titus Brandsma circle is €50.00 or US$50.00 for Europe and North America. The fee for members in Asia, Africa, and South America is €40.00. There is a €10 or US$10 discount for members of the Order.

Titus Brandsma Congress November 27-29, 2025

Program 

November 27, 2025  (Chair Giovanni Grosso)

8.30 – Morning Prayer  (Januarius Elijah Mutinda)

9.15 – Lectures. (20 minutes each, discussion in between) – Sala Luciani

• Word of Welcome (Fernando Millán Romeral)
• Titus Brandsma and the Liberating Power of Truth in John 8:32 (Lester Hallig)
• Titus Brandsma, the Resistance Fighter (Anne-Marie Bos)
• Journalists Ask for an Additional Patron Saint (Emmanuel van Lierde)

11.00 – Coffee / Tea

11.30 – Lectures. (20 minutes each, discussion in between)

• Titus Brandsma and Animal Protection (Michael Plattig)
• A Contemplative Prophetic Brotherhood in the Midst of the People: Titus Brandsma and the Elian Prophetic Dimension of the Carmelite Charism (Francis Lefani Mwanza)
• Mysticism and the Everyday: Titus Brandsma and the Search for God in the Contemporary World (Bruno Schröder – online)

13.00 – Lunch

14.00 – Free Time 

16.00 – Coffee / Tea at CISA (Centro Internationale San Alberto)

16.30 – Tour through the Archive and the Library (Giovanna Brizi / Giovanni Grosso)

18.00 – Free Time

November 28, 2025 (chair Michael Plattig)

8.30 – Morning Prayer  (Januarius Elijah Mutinda)

9.30 – Lectures (20 minutes each, discussion in between) – Sala Luciani

• Titus Brandsma and Soreth (Patrick Mullins)
• Titus Brandsma and the Journaal Ons Geestelijk Erf (Rob Faesen)
• What Concept and Image of God for today? Inspiration taken from Titus Brandsma’s Lecture On the Concept of God (Charlo Camilleri)

11.00 – Coffee / Tea

11.30 – Lectures (20 minutes each, in between discussion)

• Titus Brandsma: The Decolonizing Dimension of the Mission of the Dutch Carmelite Order to Malang-Indonesia within the Context of Colonization. (Edison Tinambunam)
• Societal Action Inspired by Titus Brandsma (Rico Ponce)
• A New Bibliography of and about Titus Brandsma (Henk Rutten – online)

13.00 – Lunch

15.30 – Coffee and Tea 

16.00 – Silvio Maestranzi: Le due croci /The two crosses (introduction to the film Fernando Millan Romeral)

19.00 – Free Time

November 29, 2025  (Chair Fernando Millán Romeral)

8.30 – Morning prayer  (Januarius Elijah Mutinda)

9.30 – Lectures (20 minutes each, discussion in between) – Sala Luciani

• Titus Brandsma as a Carmelite Retreat Leader (Sanny Bruijns)
• The Poetry of St Titus Brandsma – An Underappreciated Part of His Oeuvre? (Marcin Polkowski)
• Titus Brandsma and Marian Spirituality in Rome: Santa Maria Antiqua and the Catacombs of Priscilla (Giovanni Grosso)

11.00 – Coffee / Tea

11:30 – Network Titus Brandsma Circle: Report of the Bursar, Elections of the President, Bursar, and Secretary by the Members of the Titus Brandsma Circle, Plans for the Next Congress in 2027 (Christian Körner, Fernando Millán Romeral)

12.30 – Break out groups

13.00 – Lunch

15.00 – Tour of the Catacombs of Priscilla (Giovanni Grosso)

19.00 – Eucharist 

20.00 – Dinner at Maria Bambina

Departure from Maria Bambina, Rome on November 30, 2025, no later than 9:30 a.m.

July 27 | Obligatory Memorial (Feast: Ger, Phil, Del Colombia)

A noted writer and journalist, in 1935, St. Titus was appointed adviser to the Dutch bishops for Catholic journalists. In the period leading up to and during the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands, he argued passionately against the National Socialist ideology, basing his stand on the Gospels. He continually defended the right to freedom in education and for a free the Catholic Press. As a result, he was imprisoned.

He passed from one prison or camp to another until he arrived in Dachau where he was killed on July 26, 1942. He was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on November 3, 1985 and was canonized by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022, in St Peter’s Square.

The Order’s petition to have the celebration of St. Titus Brandsma changed from an optional memorial to an obligatory memorial for the whole Order was accepted. The Provinces of Germany and the Philippines as well as the General Delegation in Columbia who have St. Titus as their patron celebrate the day as a feast.

Read more about the life of St. Titus Brandsma

Special Announcement:

We are proud to announce that Volume 5 in the Titus Brandsma series is due from the printer in the coming days. This incredible collection of the writings, speeches, and letters of St. Titus Brandsma, translated into English, provides the martyr of Dachau's life story in his own words.

Edizioni Carmelitane also provides a number of other excellent publications on Carmel's most recent saint including a theatrical play, a professionally produced tv production in multiple languages, as well as books in a variety of languages.

For more information

Two years after the canonization of Carmelite Titus Brandsma, the relics and an image of the saint continue their tour around the Philippines. On May 14, the eve of the anniversary of Brandsma’s canonization, the relics were at the headquarters of ABS-CBN in Quezon City.

ABS-CBN Corporation is the largest radio broadcaster, entertainment television production, program syndication provider and media conglomerate in the Philippines. It is Filipino owned and based in Quezon City which is in Metro Manila, Philippines. It employs more than 5,200 people.

Tuesday’s event was the first time a media company has hosted the nationwide pilgrimage of the relic and image of St. Titus. Known as a defender of truth and a martyr for press freedom, the saint's values and principles “perfectly align” with ABS-CBN’s mission, said Brother Lester Hallig, O. Carm., as quote in an online article on the ABS-CBN website. “That’s what makes his presence here very special. He resonates with the values that ABS-CBN represents.”

Members of the Philippine Province which is dedicated to St. Titus Brandsma led the visit to the media corporation’s Chapel of the Annunciation. The chapel’s chaplain, Fr. Carmelo “Tito” Caluag, presided over the Mass to celebrate the relic’s visit.

Following the Mass, ABS-CBN’s President and CEO Carlo Katigbak, Chairman Mark Lopez, and Chief Operating Officer Cory Vidanes signed a “pledge of truth.”

The pilgrim relic tour of St. Titus started in July 2022, two months after he was declared as a saint on May 15, 2022. It has been the subject of a previous CITOC online Update (134/2023).

St. Titus' relic has visited several provinces, including Pangasinan, Isabela, and parts of Mindanao, as well as different schools around the Philippines. Last year, the Order of the Carmelites brought the relic and image of the saint to Kalibo, Aklan, and introduced it to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

pdf Read here the the text of the interview conducted with Fr. Carmelo Caluag and Br. Lester Hallig, O. Carm. (85 KB)

Watch the Mass for St Titus Brandsma pilgrim relic visit to ABS CBN chapel | Philippine Carmelites | Philippine Carmelites · Original audio

May 3

A day observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991.

From an open letter from Catholic journalists to Pope Francis on the occasion of the canonization of Carmelite Titus Brandsma, May 15, 2022.

Your Holiness,

In 2018 you asked us, journalists, loud and clear, “to promote a journalism of peace”, a “journalism that is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines. A journalism created by people for people, one that is at the service of all, (…) a journalism committed to pointing out alternatives to the escalation of shouting matches and verbal violence” (“The truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:32), Fake news and journalism for peace. Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for World Communications Day, 24 January 2018).

We wholeheartedly endorse your call to action and in it we recognize a mission statement for the whole of the journalistic enterprise: for old and new media, for editors of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, and internet platforms - and not only for journalists of Catholic origin, but for all journalists of good will.

Titus Brandsma has meant a lot to the Catholic community in the Low Countries, but his journalistic work stands out among all his other activities. He was editor-in-chief of a newspaper, devoted himself to the modernization and professionalization of the Catholic daily press in the Netherlands, and strove for better working conditions and the establishment of a professional training for journalists.

Father Brandsma did his work in the context of the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe. In word and deed he opposed the language of hatred and division that was becoming common at the time. In his view, what we now describe as ‘fake news' was not to be tolerated in the Catholic press; he successfully argued for an episcopal ban on the printing of National Socialist propaganda in Catholic newspapers.

[St. Titus Brandsma] paid with his life for his courageous actions.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 99 journalists were killed in 2023, 72 in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict alone.

Link to Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Link to the Windhoek Declaration (1991)

Link to full letter of the Catholic journalists to Pope Francis (May 2022)

Publications by or about St. Titus Brandsma,  include the Collected Works of Titus Brandsma in English (4 of 7 volumes completed); Un Frate Pericoloso, a play in Italian; biographies in English, Spanish, and Italian; a RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana-Tiber Cinematografica produced movie, Le Due Croci (DVD, in Italian with subtitles available in English and Spanish); and many other excellent offerings.

Interview With Its Writer

Story Behind the Icon for the 100th Anniversary of the Indonesian Province

An icon written for the 100th anniversary of the Indonesian Province which concluded a short time ago has an interesting history and an interesting writer. The Icon will find a permanent home in the provincial house of the Indonesian Province. It is hoped that it becomes both a tool of prayer and a sign of courage to be the true light of God to others and the good follower of Jesus Christ.” according to its creator.

She was born into a Christian family although her mother, born in Bali, was Buddhist. Her parents enrolled her into a Catholic secondary school under the care of the Sisters of Perpetual Help. One of the nuns, Sr. Flora took care of her when she was sick and became her private teacher after school in the area of math, religion and catechism. Two years later, Sr. Flora invited her to become a Catholic and gave her the baptismal name of Cecilia. “However, as she was filling out the form for the baptism, Sr. Flora received a message in prayer that her name should be Marina Carmel. So Our Lady of Mount Carmel became my patron saint. This was my first contact with the Carmelites.”

Following an accident involving her hands, Marina Carmel had the opportunity to learn from Orthodox nuns and priests how to write icons. “They encouraged me, improving my ability to use my injured hands. I also asked for God’s healing in my soul. A few months later, some priests borrowed my icon for a public session of prayer. They saw God’s work and compassion through the icons. They saw the tears and peace of those who came to pray.”

“They advised me to listen my calling from God to see whether I should be an icon painter or not. After many years of my unwillingness and discernment, an invitation to write icons about the Our Lady of Mount Carmel came from the Discalced Carmelites in Taiwan, the Carmelites in Hong Kong and Our Lady of Mount Carmel church in Hong Kong.”

What would such icons represent for their author? “It acts as a connection between myself and others in the tender hand of God. It is a way of communion with our Father in heaven, his constant presence to us. I am so grateful to be one of his tiny tools as iconographer serving in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Christian churches, religious communities, and monasteries both overseas as well as in Hong Kong.”

“The Carmelite saints I was invited to write are Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Jospeh, the Prophet Elijah, and St. Titus Brandsma. I do all of the icon writing as a result of an invitation, not because of my own wishes. 

The icon of Titus is striking. It was written for a specific purpose. “There is an icon of Elijah created from icon material which was donated by an Orthodox person in gratitude for the of Carmelites prayers and kindnesses. However, that icon was sent to the new retreat house in Sumatra last year with Fr. Heru Purwanto, O. Carm. So, a Catholic sponsored icon material for me to write another icon for Carmelite evangelization. Fr. Albertus Herwanta, O. Carm., suggested that I write an icon of the recently canonized saint Titus Brandsma. So, I began to study about the life of St. Titus Brandsma. I received guidance from Fr. Benny Phang, O. Carm., other Carmelites in Rome, and the brothers of Mount Athos. Fr. Phang summed up the advice of those Carmelites, and asked me to include some signs on the icon which represent the virtue of the saint.

The Carmelites gave me the story of St. Titus and quotes from the saint to read for my spiritual preparation. I took a week for retreat and tried to reflect on my relationship with God through the poem which was written by St. Titus regarding Eucharist. Since Eucharist often comforted him in his suffering, Titus kept close to Jesus on the Cross. He really experienced the loneliness of the Lord and was devoted to the Eucharist through sacrifices and standing with weakness.”

“How do I stand with the weak through the icon writing in prayer, the pain of illness, and the grace that God gave me in His plan? How did I get to know His plan and the vision of God? From St. Titus I learned that I should be present to the Lord. I learned from the Prophet Elijah to have the courage to walk with Jesus in weakness. Those questions appeared in my mind when I was writing the icon. I feel the heaviness of my heart and brush. I beg for the mercy of God for my weakness in service, especially in my sacred harp music. With the icon for the illness, I kept praying by invoking Jesus' name, a kind of aspirative prayer in Carmelite spiritual and early Chrisitian faith. Hoping the Lord accepts my compassion, and lets me be his tiny tool to finish the icon in his way. Glory be to the Lord!”

According to the theology of traditional icons, there are special meanings in the icon of St. Titus Brandsma. Those colors were made with rare crystal and metal stone in prayer. The icon panel of special wood was made by carpenter in prayer. Those colors were mixed with egg, vinegar, and water in prayer. As iconographer, we cannot make any changes or put our on creative touches into the icon. All the colors of traditional icons were written from dark color to bright color. Because it means “Lord save us from sin,” it reminded me of the words of St. John of the Cross: "Even in the darkness, there is light.”

The dark blue color of the background is a sign of a martyr with purity in the soul. The shape of nose is straight, it means the breath of Holy Spirit is present in the life of the saint. The prominent, slightly out of proportion head of saint means the saint is full of wisdom in the Lord. St. Titus holding a pen and paper because he is a reporter and wrote to bring about justice.

“There also a quote of the saint written on a scroll of paper ‘He who wants to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come in conflict with it.’ It reminds us to be brave in following Jesus Christ. The mirror effect of the halo was made with real gold. Gold means the true light of God. It acts as the mirror of the heart which reflects our prototype of God's image. How did St. Titus Brandsma come to reflect the true light of God in his life, in the darkness? How he can he guarantee himself to be present before our Lord Jesus Christ? How enormous his courage be in order to savor the loneliness on the cross of Jesus Christ?”

The Titus Brandsma Circle in collaboration with scholars at various universities in Rome is organizing the second Biennial Titus Brandsma Congress. This will take place:

• November 27-29, 2025 (arrival November 26 and departure November 30)
• Rome, Istituto Maria Bambina (right outside St. Peter's Square)

The Dutch Carmelite and professor of philosophy Titus Brandsma (1881-1942) did groundbreaking work in the field of Dutch mysticism. He was one of the prominent thinkers regarding the social teaching of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands and promoted the improvement of education in Catholic schools and the professionalization of Catholic journalism. He criticized National Socialism and dedicated himself to the promotion of peace.

We welcome papers dealing with various aspects of his intense life, his different activities, and his astonishing number of writings.

Please send your abstract (300 words) in English, Spanish, or Italian to

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The organization committee for the 2025 congress consists of four members:

• Prof. Fernando Millán, Comillas University Madrid, Spain, president of the Titus Brandsma Circle
• Prof. Giovanna Brizi, general postulator of the Carmelite Order and other orders, invited professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University
• Prof. Giovanni Grosso, chair of the Institutum Carmelitanum Rome, invited professor at the Teresianum
• Prof. Michael Plattig, member of the German Carmelite Institute and the Institutum Carmelitanum, invited professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University

Deadline for abstracts is: March 31, 2025

In August, the Carmelite Province of the Philippines awarded the Titus Brandsma Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Napoleon Isabelo “Billy” Veloso Abueva. The award was given posthumously. Ms Amihan Abueva addressed the group on behalf of the Abueva Family.

Dr. Abueva is recognized as the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture. His modernistic approach is apparent in the monumental character of his outdoor and public sculptures and the promotion of Philippine themes. Some of his sculptures include movable components. His prolific artwork began in the 1950s. He was very consistent in his support of the ideals and cause of St. Titus Brandsma for truth, free speech and free press, justice and peace. Dr. Abueva was a man of integrity, honor and faith.

Abueva designed and made the trophy which is presented to winners of the award. He has also designed a well-known bust of St. Titus.

The ceremony, which took place at the Titus Brandsma Center in Quezon City, began with a welcome from the prior provincial of the Philippine Province of St. Titus Brandsma, Rico Ponce. Carmelite Christian Buenafe, the executive director of the Titus Brandsma Media Center and Institute of Spirituality in Asia, made the introductions. Anne Marie Bos, a Carmelite from the Titus Brandsma Institute in Nijmegen, Netherlands, addressed the gathering. Angela Blardony Ureta, aO. Carm., the director of the Carmelite Center for Social-Pastoral Communication and member of the Titus Brandsma Award. Marc Jozsef Lester G. Hallig, O. Carm., acted as master of ceremonies.

The Titus Brandsma Award Philippines is the country’s version of the international Titus Brandsma Award. In 1999 the Carmelites, along with the Titus Brandsma Media Center, established the award. The first award was given the following year. The award is given to professionals in media and educators and then was expanded to include leadership in journalism, culture and the arts, press freedom, among other areas.

From October 3 to 6, the first congress of the newly established Titus Brandsma Circle was held at Radboud University. Approximately 70 people from 17 countries took part. The program of the congress can be seen here [https://www.ru.nl/en/about-us/events/titus-brandsma-congress]. 

The Congress is part of the major project to publish the Collected Works of Titus Brandsma in seven volumes that Dr Elisabeth Hense, Associate Professor for Spirituality at Radboud University, is leading in collaboration with Joseph Chalmers S.T.L. 

The project is funded by Radboud University and the British and Irish Provinces of the Carmelites as well as the General Council of the Carmelites in Rome. 

Dr Elisabeth Hense organized the Congress in collaboration with Prof. Michael Plattig and Dr Edeltraud Klueting, both members of the German Carmelite Institute. The proceedings of the Congress will be published in the series of the German Carmelite Institute at Aschendorff.

The conference included talks by experts on the various facets of Brandsma’s life as well as a broader look at Dutch mysticism, Eastern mysticism, National Socialism, Carmelite Spirituality, and the Carmelite Rule.

The days also included a tour of the Carmelite monastery in Boxmeer where Brandsma made his novitiate. Today it houses the Dutch Provincial Archives and the Dutch Carmelite Institute. There was also a walk around the extensive Radboud University campus and “in the footsteps” of Titus Brandsma around the city of Nijmegen.

One night the composer Willibrord Huisman, Hendrik Jan Bosman, and a local choir performed works honoring the life and spirituality of Brandsma at the Titus Brandsma Memorial in Nijmegen.

The opening session was held in the theater in the Elinor Ostrom Building on the campus. There was an opening address by the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, followed by presentations on “The Meaning of Titus Brandsma for the Dutch Church” by Bishop Gerard de Korte, bishop fo Den Bosch; “The Meaning of Titus Brandsma for the Carmelite Order” by the prior general of the Order, Míceál O’Neill; and “The Meaning of Titus Brandsma for the Dutch Carmelite Province” by Huub Welzen, the prior provincial of the Dutch Province. Between presentations, music was provided by composer Chris Fictoor and a clarinettist and 4 choral signers.

The evening concluded with a social hour in the campus bar/cafeteria.

Each day began with morning prayer in the University Chaplaincy. On the final day the members celebrated a Eucharist together led by the prior general. A festive meal followed at a local restaurant.