Angela Maria Autsch was a German nun of the Trinitarian Order who lived from 1900 to 1944. Born Maria Cäcilia Autsch in Röllecken, she joined her religious congregation in Austria in 1934. During the Second World War, she became a prisoner of the Nazi regime after expressing opposition to the political leadership. While held in concentration camps, including Ravensbrück and Auschwitz, she served as a nurse and provided spiritual support to other inmates. She is recognized by the Catholic Church as a venerable for her heroic virtue and resistance.
Life and resistance
After working in a clothing store during her youth, she entered the Trinitarian Sisters of Valence in 1934. She famously protected her convent from Nazi seizure by claiming it was Spanish property. Her arrest followed her critical remarks regarding the regime, specifically describing Hitler as a scourge for Europe. As a political prisoner, she endured imprisonment in Ravensbrück and later Auschwitz, where she used her role as a nurse to secretly assist fellow inmates with medicine and food.
Veneration
Known as the "Angel of Auschwitz" for her kindness toward others, she maintained her faith even when offered freedom in exchange for leaving her order. The Archdiocese of Vienna began her beatification process in 1990, fueled by the testimonies of survivors and her extensive correspondence. In 2018, Pope Francis declared her venerable, noting how her simple gestures of faith served as a form of resistance against evil.