Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Pretoria (Agenzia Fides) - Father Paul Tatu of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Stigmatine) from the Province of the Most Holy Redeemer was murdered on April 27 in Pretoria.
"We have not been precisely informed and we do not yet know the dynamics of the events. Father Paul happened to witness a murder of a woman," says Father Gianni Piccolboni (76) to Fides, who has lived and worked as a Stigmatine missionary in South Africa for over 30 years and has held many position within the Congregation, including that of Provincial Superior.
"The murderer", adds Father Gianni "is said to have forced our confrere into a car, where he was shot in the back of the head in order to eliminate a witness." The 45-year-old Father Paul originally came from Lesotho, worked in the communications office of the bishops' conference and also completed a journalism degree at university. “We pray for him and for the Stigmatine missionaries who are affected by such great suffering,” concluded Father Piccolboni.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Southern Africa (SACBC) has expressed its condolences at the "tragic news of the death" of Father Paul Tatu.
The statement, signed by Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, President of the Bishops' Conference, recalled that the slain Stigmatine "worked with dedication as Media and Communications Officer of the SACBC for several years." The Catholic bishops of the SACBC emphasize that the murder of Father Tatu "is not an isolated incident, but rather a shocking example of the decline in security and morality in South Africa".
The Stigmatines have been present in South Africa since November 9, 1960, when the first Stigmatines arrived in the country: Father Lino Inama, Father Dario Weger, Father Primo Carnovali and Brother Giuseppe Modena. After about 20 years as a vice-province, it was elevated to a province on September 25, 2014. The name "Most Holy Redeemer" comes from the name of the church in Mmakau where the brothers began their apostolic work in 1960. Today the province has communities in several countries in southern Africa: South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi and Tanzania. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 30/4/2024)
