Ordained a priest shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Father Macha provided assistance to those who lost their loved ones in the fighting and also supported students and scouts.
Arrested in 1942, he was moved from prison to prison by Poland's Nazi German occupiers before being executed by guillotine on December 3 of that year. He was 28.
The process for the beatification of Father Macha opened in 2013.
The pope’s decision is a confirmation that the Polish priest died in odium fidei, or “in hatred of the faith.” It paves the way for the priest’s beatification, a step short of sainthood.
(mk/gs)