Mission Martyrs 2006

Please pray for these 24 servants of the Church who lost their lives for the Lord in mission territories in 2006.

Fr Elie Koma	Society of Jesus, 59, shot February 4 by armed men, Bujumbura, Burundi. Ordained 1980, spiritual director and retreat master for women religious and members of Marian movements.
Fr Andrea Santoro	Fidei Revum priest, 61, killed February 5 in Trabzon, Turkey, while praying after Mass. Ordained 1970, started group for study, prayer and dialogue between the west and the Middle East.
Fr Josй Alfonso Moreira	Congregation of the Holy Spirit, 80, shot February 9, Angola. Was loved for commitment to mission including during civil war years 1975-2002.
Fr Michael Gajere	ordained 1994, parish priest, Bulunkutu, Maiduguri, Nigeria. One of many killed by armed gang, February 18, in violence after peaceful demonstration. Before being shot helped parish youth group leaders to safety.
Sr Maria Yermine Yamlean	33, Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Jalan Pattimura, Indonesia. Stabbed by intruderat convent, later died in hospital March 10.
Fr Eusebio Ferrao	61, parish priest, St Francis, Macasana, India, suffocated to death, March 17. Served parish community with zeal and humility.
Mgr Bruno Baldacci	Fidei Revum priest, 63, beaten to death, March 30 at his parish Nossa Senhora das Candeias, Brazil. Ordained 1968, spent 42 years on mission, dedicated to helping poor and rehabilitating young drug addicts.
Fr Luis Montenegro	77, stabbed to death in his sleep April 12, Argentina. Over 30 years as parish priest at Nuestra Senora del Rosario a La Calera.
Sr Karen Klimczak	62, Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph (SSJ), killed Good Friday, April 14, by inmate at house for rehabilitation of former prisoners, Buffalo, USA.
Fr Galgalo Boru	shot in car by bandits in April. He served in Bulesa Parish, Kenya.
Fr Jorge Piсango Mascareсo	47, killed April 24, Caracas, Venezuela. Had the spirit of the Beatitudes and a clear vocation to serve.
Fr Josй Carlos Cearense	diocesan priest 44, found stabbed to death with hands tied behind back, May 8, in parish house, Delta, Brazil.
Fr Jude Kimeli Kibor	57, active in prison pastoral care, killed May 11 near Eldoret, Kenya, while on his way to say Mass.
Friar Luis Alfonso Herrera Moreno (OFM)	46, stoned to death June 28, possibly by robbers, in Bonda, Colombia. Was bursar at college.
Fr John Mutiso Kivaya	35, murdered by bandits in restaurant at Tala, Kenya, July 31, while visiting family.
Fr Chidi Okorie	31, stabbed to death by robbers, August 4, at priest’s house, St Mary’s Catholic parish church, Afikpo, Nigeria. Ordained 2004.
Br Augustine Taiwa	40, St John of God Brothers, murdered August 28, near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, while driving by a gang who threw a spear at his head.
Sr Leonella Sgorbati	Consolata Missionary, 66, ambushed September 17, Mogadishu, Somalia, by gunmen on her way to hospital where she worked as a nurse.
Fr Ricardo Antonio Romero	53, beaten, stoned to death, abandoned, September 25, on a road to El Salvador. Parish priest at Santa Catarina Masahuat. Known for tireless work to evangelise and assist the poor.
Fr Pascal Konй Naougnon	51, shot dead by robbers at his parish, Divo, Cote d’Ivoire, October 31. Known for spirit of service, dedicated to training school drop outs.
Fr Waldyr dos Santos	Brazilian Jesuit, 69, and lay volunteer Ms Idalina Neto Gomes, Portuguese, 30, both killed, November 6, by bandits, in Tete Province, Mozambique – area of frequent attacks on Catholic missions and religious community houses.
Jacob Fernandez	lay Catholic worker in religious bookshop, Shrine of Mount St Thomas, Tamil Nadu, India, killed November 26, reportedly by fanatic in front of terrified eyewitnesses in bookshop.
Johnny Morales	34, Salesian co-worker, Guatemala, killed December 8 in ambush, possibly because of refusal to be involved in illegal drug smuggling in new job at the Mexican border. Had been married a year.

A rising tide of sacrifice for the faith

Between 1980 - 1989 at least 115 missionaries died violently. Between 1990 - 2000 at least 604 were killed, a figure substantially higher than the previous decade as it includes the genocide in Rwanda (1994). Also, many church personnel are included whom Pope John Paul II described as ‘martyrs of charity’ – sacrificing their lives rather than abandoning the people entrusted to their care. Between 2001 – 2006 152 pastoral workers have been killed. Remember them and all who are similarly tested for their faith.