Father Giuseppe Bernardi and Father Mario Ghibaudo, two Italian priests slain by Nazi forces in 1943, were beatified in Boves, a small town in the Italian province of Cuneo (map), on October 16.

“In extreme danger they did not abandon the people entrusted to them, but assisted them even to the point of shedding their blood, sharing the tragic destiny of other fellow townspeople killed by the Nazis,” Pope Francis said. “May their example enkindle in priests the desire to be pastors after Christ’s heart, always alongside their people.”