Despite experiencing persecution, Dragomir led an active religious life during the period after Northern Transylvania was ceded to Hungary in 1940.
[1] In 1948, the new Communist regime outlawed Dragomir's church and he spent time hidden in a barn attic in his native village.
One night, dressed as a peasant, he went to the Ulmeni station and boarded a train for Bucharest, paying a villager who recognized him to keep quiet.
Dragomir lived hidden at the nunciature and in 1950 was consecrated bishop by Gerald O'Hara, the Holy See's delegate in Romania.
After relations with the Vatican were severed and the nunciature was closed, Dragomir was arrested by the Securitate, sentenced to prison in 1951, and subjected to various repressive measures.