Father Henri Van Oostayen, S. J.
(1906-1945)
Father Van Oostayen was a Chaplain of the Red Cross who
helped Father Jean-Baptiste De Coster to conceal Jewish boys
at Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege, located on Ursulinenstraat 4,
in Brussels. In that action, he defied the Nazis and risked
his life to save Jews. Seized by the Gestapo on July 25, 1944,
he was tortured in interrogations and transported to Germany
where he was imprisoned at Mauthausen,Oranienberg and
Bergen-Belsen where he died on April 19, 1945, just a few days
before the Allies liberated that concentration camp.
Image is from the personal collection of the Rev. Vincent A. Lapomarda,
S.J.
