Archbishop Michael Courtney gave his life for the people of Burundi to whom the Pope had sent him as an apostle of peace.
From the homily given by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State, during a solemn requiem Mass on January 8in St Peter’s in memory of Archbishop Michael Aidan Courtney, Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi brutally assassinated on 29 December.
“Our beloved Apostolic Nuncio taught us the art of Christian living – Cardinal Sodano said in his homily -. A son of the noble land of Ireland, he carried his adamantine faith along the roads of the world. In the footsteps of Christ, the Good Shepherd, he gave his life for the people of Burundi, to whom the Pope had sent him as an apostle of peace. In every corner of that tormented country, Mons. Michael made resound again the powerful words pronounced by the Pope during his historical visit to Burundi in September 1990: «Peace, peace! Forgiveness and love!». And the Apostolic Nuncio was an example of love for those beloved people.”
Referring to the tragic episode on 29 December Cardinal Sodano said “once again Cain raised his hand to strike his brother Abel!… shocked by the tragedy the Catholic community in Burundi gathered immediately to pray to ask the Lord to grant the reward of the just to one who had been a shining example of apostolic commitment in the three years of his service in that Nunciature. The funeral, held on 31 December in Bujumbura Cathedral di Bujumbura, revealed the veneration with which the late Mons. Michael was regarded in that tormented nation.” In a message issued on the sad occasion the Bishops of Burundi praised the Nuncio’s heroic testimony: «Day and night, without respite, Monsignor Michael Courtney helped Burundians to rebuild among themselves understanding and harmony through dialogue... He spared no effort to bring together all Burundians without exception. In this way he demonstrated that there is no other path for the salvation of our country except that of dialogue, consultation and definitive rejection of homicide and assassination as political means.» Cardinal Sodano underlined that Archbishop Courtney’s death “is nothing but a bridge from one life to another, the earthly life and the heavenly life; it is nothing but a bridge between the banks of human existence” and this should prompt reflection: “It is a warning to consider life as a mission to be fulfilled, a way to be walked along the path which Providence has traced for us, to always keep our loins girded and our lamps burning.” (S.L.) (Fides Service 20/3/2004 lines 29; words 433)

Comboni Father Mario Mantovani murdered by a young man whom he had baptised.
Italian missionary Father Mario Mantovani was shot dead with Ugandan Father Godfrey Kiruowa in Uganda on the eve of the Feast of the Assumption as they were passing through Lobel about 40 km from Kanawat mission. The two Comboni fathers were on their way from Kanawat to Kapedo to administer the Sacraments and celebrate the feast of the Assumption when they were attacked by a group of Karimojong gunmen. The car, driven by Father Godfrey, was surrounded by a two bands of warriors Dototh and Jie. The Ugandan priest, it would appear, was shot first with a shot to the head and two more shots. When Father Mario realised that there was nothing he could do to help his confrere he slid out of the car unhurt and hid in the high grass. Probably fearing he would be recognised the murderer followed Father Mario and shot him dead. Then the assassin stole the missionary’s shoes and a few small personal belongings and took them to his hut. It was through those objects that the local authorities identified the killer who was nearly lynched by the people who loved Father Mario. The murderer was a Christian who had worked at the mission as a mechanic, he had been baptised by Father Mario himself.
Father Mario spent 46 years of mission in Uganda, the most difficult of the Comboni missions. He was not afraid of approaching and caring for lepers. He went to their huts, dressed their sores, (without gloves), he took them food and blankets, a little soap, and tobacco and even smoked tobacco with them to break down the barriers and treating them as healthy people.
Another category of people he loved were the elderly. Sometimes then food was very scarce old people who had to rely on other people were abandoned in the desert and left to die, at the mercy of hyenas. Father Mario arranged for the local Christians to let him know when some elderly person was about to be abandoned. He would go a fetch the person take him to the mission and look after him with love. This made a deep impression on the people it was bearing witness to the faith he preached .
“For many years – he wrote – I worked in various missions and never baptised a child or gave them first Holy Communion because the parents knew nothing of the faith and the children from the age of 4 upwards were sent every day to the pastures to look after sheep, goats and cows. Those were the years of sowing in tears. All through those years I tried to open little schools but they remained empty, no children came.
After 10 years, at the suggestion of our catechists, we invited the little shepherds to come to the mission in the evenings to learn catechism and share with us a little supper of maize. After 20 years we had young people of 16 and 17 starting elementary school and after three years of instruction they were baptised and made their first Holy Communion. Now at the age 18-20 they have been confirmed. They seem to be here to stay. Very often when I drive past on my way to visit the mission chapels they run up to say hello. They are all my brothers and sisters who greet me as I pass on the road, in the fields, at the pasture or at the mission. And so in this land where there seemed to be only thorns, sand and stones the Church grows and becomes strong with its faithful, its catechists and its priests”. (Agenzia Fides 20/3/2004 – Righe 42; Parole 654)

Brother Anton Probst, Claretian brother, known to all as Mbuta, the elder brother
German born Brother Anton CMF (Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), was a very active missionary. He lived and worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 23 years, from 1968 to 1991. He was an able mechanic, carpenter, plumber and he left valuable notes on the local rainfall and general climatic conditions.
A local CMF Father Kihunga Nzungu Zénon tells us that to be a better missionary Brother Anton wanted to learn all about the local people and he often took part in their traditional rites and customs. “Like the local people he used to wear a bracelet made of copper bearing his name Gamudondu meaning, little tree, head of the family, head of the village. Brother Anton was a missionary with the charisma of St Anthony Claret; he crossed hills and valleys and plains to learn about the people. He was always ready to serve, always available. He was simple and humble like the Blessed Virgin Mary. He always tried to instil the joy of the religious life in his young confreres who referred to him with affection as Mbuta big brother, leader, adviser. He loved Africa he worked for Africa, and he died for Africa. We ask him to intercede that God will call many new vocations totally dedicated to Christ and to the universal Church.”
Claretian novices, who first met Brother Anton at the Akono Novitiate, in 2003 in Cameroon, have this to say about the German born missionary Brother: “Brother Anton was no an easy person to describe. All the Claretian students at Akono or people who come into contact with the Claretians heard about Mtuba but who could understand his personality? It was difficult! We were impressed first of all by his calm and prudence which was amazing. Brother Anton was a tireless worker, sometimes he even worked through rest periods during the day. Every day he set about doing the same tasks with new enthusiasm, passion, diligence and care. When he had something to say to us novices he would never start until all of us were present, he would even go and call those who were absent. His talks were never speculative they were practical pedagogical and it would not be exaggerated to say that he was a walking encyclopaedia: we have lost a wise man, his death leaves us with deep grief and a great emptiness”. (Agenzia Fides 20/3/2004 – Righe 34; Parole 506)

Sister Czeslawa Lorek: “What can I do for the Pope? How can I help him? I know, I’ll go on mission!”.
Sister Czeslawa Lorek was born in 1938 at Binczyce Gorne, in Poland, to a deeply Christian family. The parish priest, Father Stanislaw Pieprznikm were her first spiritual director who helped her discern her vocation and start her life as a religious. While still a young girl one day when she was praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament she heard an interior voice say: “Daughter give me your heart ”. After that experience, everything happened very quickly.
Czeslawa joined the congregation of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) in 1960 and during the first part of her formation she was trained to work with children and a catechist and a kindergarten teacher. In 1978 she attended an audience of the newly elected Pope John Paul II. In her hear she heard a voice: “ What can I do for the Pope? How can I help him? I know, I’ll go on mission!!”.
In December 1978 she asked her Superiors’ permission to go to work in Zaire, offering this reason: “The Pope’s words filled me with deep trust in Divine Providence. I put myself in the hands of God who has called me and now I want to offer my life and go to the country he has indicated. My only desire is to fulfil his will. Here I am Lord, send me! I am poor I have no talents but I want to renounce everything to bear witness to God who is Love. I have experienced the love of Jesus and this love is my inspiration in daily life. I want to praise and thank the Lord for doing great things in me. I want to do his will to carry on the Mission of the Church ”.
In 1984, after a long period of preparation at last she set out for Zaire determined to life for the Kingdom of God, to be a channel of God’s love and peace. At that time the situation in Zaire was shocking and challenging. Sister Czeslawa worked with children with prisoners and with women.
After the war she moved to Kinshasa. In 1995 she was operated on to remove a tumour. When she recovered she returned to the mission. In 2001 she spent her last home leave in Poland. On May 11, 2003 she was attacked while working in a church in Kinshasa. She died a holy death ten days later on May 21. Her Sisters will always remember Sister Czeslawa as a person who radiated the love of God, serene and peaceful and totally dedicated to Africa. (Agenzia Fides 20/3/2004 – Righe 30; Parole 435)

Marko Makuec Shir, martyr catechist in Kutum, Sudan
One of the participants in a Trauma Counselling Course organised by Nyala parish in February 2003, was a young catechist Marko Makuec Shir, a Dinka from Gogrial, married and with three children
The course explained the basics of Trauma Counselling very necessary in Sudan which has experienced almost 40 years of civil war. Little did Marko know that only six months later he would experience trauma himself in Kutum where he had been a catechist since 1998. Kutum is a small fertile village about 80 km. north of El Fasher, the state capital, situated about 800 m. above sea level. Life in the village was tranquil and the only reason for which the catechist was not too happy about going there was that it was isolated. On 25 April 2003 the situation changed. El Fasher was attacked by a group of rebels withdrawing with tanks and jeeps leaving behind them a trail of destruction and death. Marko sent his wife and children to Khartoum while he stayed in Kutum to assist about 12 Christian families and a barracks of 500 soldiers, mostly Christians. During the daytime he looked after two small shops on the main street, one was a "kushuk" kiosk and the other was a telephone box where people came to make phone calls.
On Friday 12 August 2003 the rebels attacked Kutum and after a few hours they took the town. When the noise of the battle subsided, Marko went to the hospital to visit a wounded friend. At the hospital one of the rebels asked for his identity card. While he was looking in his pockets another rebel, who thought he was a soldier, shot him dead. Marko had never been a solider but he had helped many soldiers to pray and perhaps this is why he was taken for one of them. A true Dinka Marko was not afraid to risk his life for his brothers and the Gospel. (Agenzia Fides 20/3/2004 – Righe 22; Parole 357)

José Castillo, killed after 5 years of missionary work for social Pastoral and defence of human rights
When Joe Castillo and his wife Yelitza completed their studies at the University of Venezuela, as enthusiastic members of the Pontifical Mission Societies they wanted to go on mission to the apostolic Vicariate of Machiques (Venezuela), where they arrived in 1998. The Vicar apostolic, Bishop Ramiro Diaz Sanchez OMI, entrusted them with social pastoral and promotion of human rights: a task which Joe a lawyer and Yelitza a teacher undertook with competence and commitment. For five years they worked hard in contact with people in many different situations helping the poor, defending the rights of the Yukpa and Barì indigenous mountain peoples. The war in neighbouring Colombia had its affect on this area, especially with the arrival of refugees.
When the period of mission was over husband and wife decided to stay and live in Merida. But in the afternoon of 27 August 2003 they were attacked near their home in Tinaquillo in Machiques. In the history of the Vicariate there was never an episode of such violence: their car was stopped by another vehicle from which gunfire rained on the two innocent lay people. Joe died immediately and Yelitza and little boy were seriously wounded. After this incident other pastoral workers in the Machiques Vicariate received threats. (Agenzia Fides 20/3/2004 – Righe 15; Parole 212)

Annalena Tonelli, 35 anni in Africa: “to everyone she communicated enthusiasm”
“When she first came to Africa, in 1969, she looked like a girl, much younger than 23. Annalena went to Kenya to teach English to children at Thomsfall, where the Consolata Fathers had several schools. She came with two other volunteers who like Annalena were from Forlì. All three were enthusiastic about this missionary experience and enthusiasm was what they communicated to everyone they met. They made you want to drop everything and join them ”.
Consolata Sister Orietta Pino recalls her first meeting with Annalena Tonelli at Maralal mission in the area of the Samburu tribes where the Sisters had a school and a home for 164 girls for whom they provided everything from clothes to books.
In later years Annalena often returned to visit the Sisters at the Consolata missions. But in the meantime she realised that her mission was to serve nomads suffering from tuberculosis. So, with her degree in law she started studying medicine specialising in Italy in tropical diseases and then returned to Africa.
“Annalena was a woman of a strong character, cheerful, never tired” Sister Orietta recalls. “She had a strong spirit of sacrifice which led her to share the poverty of the brothers and sisters to whom she devoted all her energy. She always slept on a mat on the floor, although there was a bed in her room because her spirit of sacrifice was as big as her great heart”.
Consolata Sister Floriana Lano who worked in Mogadishu from 1970 to 1991 has vivid memories of Annalena as a mature woman totally dedicated to the people of Somalia. “She often came to join us for a retreat and she would tell us about her work at Wajir hospital, where she was responsible for the World Health Organisation programme. It was there that she was attacked and beaten and taken to hospital. When we went to visit Annalena to see how she was, it was she who encouraged us. A fearless women who would never give in the blackmail, she was determined to resume her work as soon as she recovered. She was totally absorbed by her work and her energy seemed inexhaustible. As a lay woman Annalena was an example of dedication for us Religious Sisters”. (M.F.D’A) (Agenzia Fides 20/3/2004 – Righe 27; Parole 408)