Fifteen years ago, on January 18, 2011, on the feast of Saint Margaret of Hungary, the then Archbishop of Veszprém, Gyula Márfi, reopened the cause for the beatification and canonization of Bódi Mária Magdolna, who at that time still bore the title Servant of God. In a pastoral decree addressed to the clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese of Veszprém, the Archbishop made it known that the regular and valid canonical procedure was beginning, and that the first public session of the duly appointed tribunal would take place in 2011, on March 23—the date associated with the news of Magdi’s martyrdom.
His predecessor, Venerable József Mindszenty, as Bishop of Veszprém, had already initiated the cause in 1945, after learning of the circumstances of Magdi’s death, which pointed clearly to a true martyrdom. Bishop Mindszenty regarded Veszprém as a city of saints, from which the virtues of the saints of the Árpád dynasty radiate toward the four corners of the world. For his episcopal coat of arms he chose the image of Saint Margaret of Hungary holding a missal adorned with lilies—an image he later retained in his archiepiscopal and cardinalatial coats of arms as well—since he came into contact with his diocese at the time of Margaret’s canonization, and because her person evokes all the Hungarian saints, Veszprém’s holy past, and Holy Pannonia.
Bishop Mindszenty presented Saint Margaret to the faithful as the Hungarian model of a life offered in atonement. On August 20, 1944, in Pápa, following a penitential procession—at the head of which the diocesan bishop himself carried the cross of atonement—he declared:
“As the greatest corruption of humanity is sin, so the only path to restoring the so often proclaimed and longed-for human dignity is atonement.”
In the final week of August 1944, a penitential week was held in Veszprém. Its closing took place on Sunday, September 2, 1944, before the statue of the Holy Trinity, where the bishop delivered a powerful and moving homily:
“Throughout this week you have come here to join the ranks of the penitents for the good of your own souls and of our beloved homeland. Now you have come here to gaze upon the face of the great penitent of our ancient history, Saint Margaret of the Árpád dynasty. As we now seek our guiding star, let us look to the ornament of our city: Saint Margaret. … We people of Veszprém also look to her and ask with Saint Augustine: If they were able to do it, why should we not be able to follow her as well? …
For us penitent Hungarians, Saint Margaret is redemption and promise through atonement. Dear faithful of Veszprém, the path lies before us! Be followers of Saint Margaret in atonement, and then you will be the saviors of the nation.”
Archbishop Gyula Márfi, Péter Szakács, archiepiscopal delegate of the canonization process, and Gergely Kovács, certified postulator and archiepiscopal expert of the cause, jointly and deliberately chose the date for restarting the process and issuing the decree. The year 2011 was also a jubilee year, marking the 90th anniversary of Blessed Bódi Mária Magdolna’s birth and the 70th anniversary of her vow of virginity. The date of the pastoral decree proclaimed on January 18, the feast of Saint Margaret of Hungary, thus alludes both to Saint Margaret—who lived her life within the territory of the Diocese of Veszprém—and to the Venerable Servant of God József Mindszenty, who chose Saint Margaret for his coat of arms and who initiated the canonization cause of Blessed Bódi Mária Magdolna.