Maria da Conceição Barbosa Araújo, Abbess of the Servite Order of Mary, was arrested by the Germans on June 6, 1944, accused of providing assistance, in the hospital she ran in Merlanwelz, Belgium, to an element of the local resistance - referred as "a white army terrorist” in Portuguese official documents - wounded by a Nazi patrol.

The Portuguese Consul in Brussels contacted the German authorities in order to know the content of the accusation and offer consular support “to ensure a legitimate right of defence”, but was unable to see or contact her as she was imprisoned in an unknown location.

The information about Maria Araújo found at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs do not specify the his fate.

C. G.