Three Martyrs of Chimbote

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Three Martyrs of Chimbote
Michal-Zbigniew-Alessandro, Chimbote PE.jpg
Michał, Zbigniew and Alessandro in Catedral of Chimbote
Priests; Martyrs
BornMichał Tomaszek :
23 September 1960
Łękawica, Żywiec, Poland
Zbigniew Adam Strzałkowski :
3 July 1958
Tarnów, Poland
Alessandro Dordi :
23 January 1931
Gromo San Marino, Bergamo, Italy
DiedMichał Tomaszek :
9 August 1991 (aged 30)
Pariacoto, Ancash, Peru
Zbigniew Adam Strzałkowski :
9 August 1991 (aged 33)
Pariacoto, Ancash, Peru
Alessandro Dordi :
25 August 1991 (aged 60)
Riconada, Ancash, Peru
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified 5 December 2015, Chimbote, Peru by Cardinal Angelo Amato
Feast
Attributes
Patronage

The Three Martyrs of Chimbote were a group of two Polish Franciscan priests and one Italian missionary priest murdered in Peru in 1991 by the Shining Path communist guerillas. Michał Tomaszek and Zbigniew Adam Strzałkowski, and Alessandro Dordi were murdered on 9 August and 25 August 1991 respectively. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Both Polish Franciscans dedicated their work to the faithful of Peru in charitable and merciful acts that appealed to their Franciscan charism, taking as their models for their work both Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Maximilian Kolbe. In response to a drought in 1989, the two friars brought with them food from Caritas to cater to the immediate needs of the people. Yet the two also catechized the faithful and preached on various saints, in the process, revitalizing the faith of the Peruvian people.

Dordi served in Peru since 1980 and tended to the social needs of the Peruvian people while assisting with rural development programs and for his esteemed preaching abilities.

Pope Francis gave approval on 3 February 2015 to their beatification after affirming their martyrdom, and the celebration of beatification was celebrated in Peru by Cardinal Angelo Amato on 5 December 2015. A miracle attributed to the three will be required for their eventual canonization.

Biographies

Michał Tomaszek

Tomaszek was born on 23 September 1960 and was a professed member of the Conventual Franciscans; he received the Franciscan habit on 4 October 1980 on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Tomaszek was baptized a month after his birth in Saint Michael's parish in his home town and was an altar boy at the time he received his First Communion in 1969 at the same time his father died. He graduated from high school in 1975 and continued his studies in a Franciscan seminary, professing his temporary vows in 1981. He commenced his novitiate after five years of study and studied theology from 1981 to 1987. He studied both philosophy and theology and defended his thesis on moral theology

He was ordained to the priesthood on 23 May 1987. [1]

On 24 July 1989, he was dispatched to Peru and despite threats against him, he continued his missionary activities alongside fellow Franciscan Zbigniew Adam Strzałkowski. In 1991, he was abducted and murdered by the Shining Path Communist guerilla faction.

Zbigniew Adam Strzałkowski

Strzałkowski was born on 3 July 1958 and was a professed member of the Conventual Franciscans. [3] He was baptized a week following his birth and made his First Communion in 1967.

He graduated from secondary schooling in 1978 and he joined the Franciscan order the following year. He studied both philosophy and theology while in the seminary and after this was ordained as a priest on 7 June 1986 by Henryk Gulbinowicz. He served as the assistant rector at the minor seminary in Legnica for two years.

He professed his solemn vows on 8 December 1984 prior to his ordination.

He commenced missionary work in Peru from November 1988. He tended to the ill who often referred to him as "our little doctor" since he helped the ill to get better through words of comfort or providing them with the Eucharist. [4] It was during the course of his work in Peru that he met Michał Tomaszek. Both were abducted in 1991 and were murdered by a Communist terrorist group.

Alessandro Dordi

Tomb of Alessandro Dordi. Loculo di sepoltura Cimitero Gromo San Marino.JPG
Tomb of Alessandro Dordi.

Dordi was born on 23 January 1931 and he served as a priest in his birthplace of Bergamo.

Dordi had administered to Italian immigrants in Switzerland and he served in watch factories there as a worker-priest. It was there that he became aware of the concerns of the working class and decided to place great focus on social matters.

He was also a member of the missions of Fidei Donum and travelled to Peru where he did work in the missions there. He served in the Santa parish and was committed to the farming sector while helping them implement rural development programs. At the time he learned of the fates of the two Polish friars' fate, Tomaszek and Strzałkowski with whom he was friends with, he kept telling his close collaborators that he would be the next victim of the Shining Path terrorist group; indeed, they deemed Dordi a great threat. [5]

He was returning from a chapel to baptize children and celebrate Mass when he was ambushed and shot, thus murdered in 1991. [2]

Beatification

The cause for the beatification of the three priests commenced under Pope John Paul II with the declaration of "nihil obstat" (nothing against) on 5 June 1995 which opened the cause in Peru to investigate their deaths and both their lives and their work in Chimbote; the process spanned from 9 August 1996 until 25 August 2002. The documentation was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome in 2011 after the diocesan process closed.

Pope Francis approved the beatification in 2015 which occurred on 5 December 2015; Cardinal Angelo Amato presided over the mass.

The pope venerated the relics of the two Poles at a Franciscan convent on the occasion of his visit to Poland for World Youth Day 2016.

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments approved the request of the Franciscans - on 26 February 2016 - that the liturgical feast for the two Poles be moved from 9 August to 7 June. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of Friars Minor Conventual</span> Branch of the Catholic Order of Friars Minor, founded by Francis of Assisi in 1209

The Order of Friars Minor Conventual is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are also known as Conventual Franciscans or Minorites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Lucci</span>

Antonio Lucci, born Angelo Nicola Lucci, was an Italian Roman Catholic professed member from the Order of Friars Minor Conventual and served as the Bishop of Bovino from 1729 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazju Falzon</span>

Nazju Falzon was a Maltese cleric and a professed member from the Secular Franciscan Order. He did not become an ordained priest because he did not feel he was adequate enough for such an honor. He became an apt catechist and noted for his commitment to religious instruction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudio Granzotto</span> Italian sculptor

Claudio Granzotto was an Italian professed religious from the Order of Friars Minor and a noted sculptor. Granzotto's works were a conduit for his religious expression and are reflective of his dedication to use sculpting to evangelize to others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cristobal of Saint Catherine</span> 17th-century Spanish Catholic hermit and priest

Cristóbal of Saint Catherine – born Cristóbal López de Valladolid Orea – was a Roman Catholic Spanish priest and a professed member of the Third Order of Saint Francis. He was the founder of the Franciscan Hospitallers of Jesus of Nazareth which paid careful attention to both religious and social needs of the faithful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leopoldo da Gaiche</span> Italian Roman Catholic priest

Leopoldo da Gaiche, born Giovanni Croci, was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor who became well known for wearing a crown of thorns. He was a preacher who went from diocese to diocese and served in a position of power in the Franciscan order in the Umbrian region in which he pushed for strong adherence to the Rule of Saint Francis of Assisi. He has been called the "Apostle of Umbria".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josep Tous Soler</span>

Josep Tous Soler was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin - a branch of the Franciscan Order. Upon becoming a friar he was called by the religious name Josep of Igualada and went on to preach across both Spain and France.

Giuseppe Oddi was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious - though not a priest - of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He felt drawn to religious life after his adolescence and was resolved to become a Franciscan upon seeing the example that Mariano da Roccacasale set. Upon his profession of vows he assumed the religious name of "Diego da Vallinfreda". Oddi was beatified - alongside Mariano da Roccacasale - when Pope John Paul II presided over the late Franciscans' beatification on 3 October 1999.

Mariano da Roccacasale - born Domenico di Nicolantonio - was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious from the Order of Friars Minor. He was of peasant stock and entered the order in his twenties as a professed religious rather than as an ordained priest. He was an influence in the decision of Giuseppe Oddi joining the Franciscans after their 1863 encounter. He became titled as a Servant of God under Pope Leo XIII on 12 December 1895 with the commencement of the canonization cause. He received the title Venerable in 1923 under Pope Pius XI; Roccacasale was beatified - alongside Oddi - when Pope John Paul II presided over the late Franciscans' beatification on 3 October 1999.

Quirico Pignalberi was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Conventual Franciscans. Pignalberi served as a medic on the frontlines during World War I and served as a novice master and rector of seminarians in the interwar period until the conclusion of World War II when he acted as a sought after confessor and preacher across his region. He was a friend of Saint Maximilian Kolbe and was the last custodian of the late saint's work until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala</span> Roman Catholic saints

The Martyrs of Tlaxcala were three Mexican Roman Catholic teenagers from the Tlaxcaltec people of the modern state of Tlaxcala: Cristobal (1514/15–1527) and the two companions Antonio (1516/17–1529) and Juan (1516/17–1529). The three teenagers were converts from the Nahua religion of their families to the Catholic Church in Mexico and received their educations from missionaries of the Order of Friars Minor who baptized them while evangelizing in the area. Their activism and evangelical zeal led to their honour killings by fellow Tlaxcaltec people, including their close relatives, who detested their newfound faith and recognized them as dangers to their values and rituals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan de Prado</span> Spanish missionary

Juan de Prado, OFM was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Order of Friars Minor. He served as part of the missions in Muslim Morocco at the request of Pope Urban VIII and brought much solace to the small Christian population there before the ruler had him murdered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melchor Chyliński</span>

Melchor Chyliński - in religious Rafał - was a Polish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. He first served as a soldier but decided to instead become a priest and so entered the Franciscans and made his profession prior to ordination. He also became known for his simplistic preaching and for his generous outreach to the poor through the distribution of clothing and food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolò Cortese</span> Italian Catholic priest

Nicolò Cortese - in religious Placido - was an Italian Catholic priest and professed member from the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. He served as both a parish priest and as the director for the "Il Messaggero di Sant'Antonio" magazine in Padua before and during World War II. It was in that conflict that he set up an elaborate network designed to protect Jewish people as well as British prisoners of war and Yugoslavs. But the Nazis soon discovered his plans and organized his arrest in October 1944 before killing him some weeks later after brutal tortures in their interrogations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martyrs of La Rioja</span> Two priests and a married man who were killed in the La Rioja province in Argentina

Carlos de Dios Murias, OFM Conv. and his two companions Gabriel Longueville and Wenceslao Pedernera were two priests and a married man who were killed in the La Rioja province in Argentina. Enrique Angelelli was the Bishop of La Rioja, murdered on August 4, 1976 while returning from celebrating a Mass for the murdered priests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Armando Bambarén Gastelumendi</span> Peruvian priest (1928–2021)

Luis Armando Bambarén Gastelumendi, SJ was a Peruvian Roman Catholic Bishop of Chimbote from 1967 till his retirement in 2004 and former president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Peruvians</span> Ethnic group

Polish Peruvians are Peruvian-born citizens who are of fully or partially of Polish descent, whose ancestors were Poles who emigrated to Peru as part of the Polish diaspora or Polish-born people in Peru.

References

  1. 1 2 "Venerable Michal Tomaszek". Saints SQPN. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Venerable Alessandro Dordi". Saints SQPN. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Venerable Zbigniew Adam Strzalkowski". Saints SQPN. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  4. "Franciscan Martyrs Michał Tomaszek and Zbigniew Strzałkowski". Pastoral Centre for English Speakers. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  5. "Beatified Chimbote Martyrs". National Catholic Register. 23 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  6. "The Feast Day of the Blessed Martyrs of Peru". Friars Minor Conventual. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2017.[ permanent dead link ]