This is how the brave nun’s life ended.
She had woken up early to go to a community meeting which she had called for. She wanted to speak to the farmers about their rights. All of a sudden she saw two men emerge and block her. They asked her if she had any weapon. She took out the copy of the Bible she always carried and said, “This is my only weapon.” She opened the Bible and read out a favourite passage. “Blessed are the poor in spirit … Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” One of the two hired assassins looked at the other and, when the other nodded, he fired a round at her abdomen. She fell down on her face. He fired another round on her back and four rounds on her head, killing her on the spot.
This happened on 12 February 2005 at a forest settlement in the state of Para in Brazil. The nun who was murdered was Sr. Dorothy Stang, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur. Born on 7 June 1931 in Dayton, Ohio, USA, she became a nun in 1948 and professed her final vows in 1956. For about ten years she taught in schools run by her congregation, while nurturing her dream of working in China as a missionary. But she was sent to work in Brazil in 1966. Very soon she understood she was called to defend our planet and the poor.
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Fr M A Joe Antony SJ
