Anton Durcovici (17 May 1888 – 10 December 1951) was a Romanian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and the Bishop of Iași from 1947 until his death.

[3][4] He likewise was known for his staunch commitment to the values of the Gospel and for his allegiance to the Church which led to his false arrest and imprisonment at the hands of the communist regime.

[3] On 29 July 1911 he left Rome to return home but before this went on a pilgrimage to Loreto and then travelled onwards to Austria where he celebrated his first Mass in his native village alongside his mother and brother.

[1] Romania's entrance into World War I on the Allied side saw him sent to an internment camp in Moldavia – being an Austrian citizen –, until being freed on the orders of King Ferdinand I.

[2] From 1918 to 1922 he taught students in addition to ministering in the Giurgiu parish and it was around this time that he founded the "Unio Apostolica Cleri" to promote vocations and brotherhood among priests.

[2] Pope Pius XII appointed Durcovici as the Bishop of Iaşi in October 1947 and he received his episcopal consecration on 5 April 1948 from the nation's apostolic nuncio.

[4] He had become an opponent of the post-World War II communist regime who attempted to have him accept a decrease in papal control over Romanian Catholics.

The authorities collected 57 statements from peasants from thirteen villages who were dissatisfied with Durcovici due to his refusal to introduce the Hungarian language into the churches.

He was arrested in the streets while he was going to impart the Confirmation sacrament at a parish near the capital which saw him beaten as he was forced into a waiting car.

He was also stripped naked and exposed to the winter weather as well as being denied food and water which led to his death in his cell in the evening on 10 December 1951 as a result of the mistreatment and malnutrition.

Witness accounts state that Durcovici received final absolution through a cell door from a fellow priest prisoner.

[5] The communist authorities attempted to erase all evidence of his time in prison and most documents were removed so as to hide his imprisonment.

[2] The beatification process was launched under Pope John Paul II on 28 January 1997 after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints titled Durcovici as a Servant of God and issued the "nihil obstat" (no objections) edict that would allow for the cause to commence.

[2] The apostolic nuncio Francisco-Javier Lozano Sebastían and the Archbishop of Bucharest Ioan Robu both attended the beatification as did 23 thousand people.