Bl. Andrew Oexner of Riun

Martyred at age three, the center of a terrible controversy concerning the Jews of the region. Andrew was born in Rinn, near Innsbruck, Austria, in 1459. Orphaned at the age of two, he was given to his uncle, Mayer. Andrew's body was soon discovered hanging from a tree, bearing terrible knife wounds. Mayer, arrested for the crime, declared that he had sold the baby to Jewish peddlers. Mayer was judged insane. In 1475, a group of Jews near Trent, Italy, admitted under severe torture that they had killed a Christian boy. The people of Rinn believed the Jews had also killed Andrew. His place of death was made into a shrine, and many miracles were reported there. Pope Benedict XV allowed Andrew to be beatified, but refused all requests that the baby be canonized.