SCJ MARTYRS pt. 4
Revolutionary Chaos -
28 SCJs Martyred in the Congo
In 1960 the Belgian Congo became an independent nation. The following year saw dramatic developments. Throughout the country extreme anarchy prevailed together with widespread violence. The central government was extremely weak.
In 1961 the Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was assassinated and became celebrated as a martyr by radical African liberation movements. Civil war waged by the Simba radicals under the guidance of Pierre Mulele traumatized the country. This militant group believed their revolt would lead the Congo to true independence by eliminating the central government along with all European and Christian influence. They believed the end of colonialism would allow the world of their ancestors to return to the land. The world saw the Simbas as a mixture of Maoist communism and ancestor worship. 1964 was the most difficult year of the revolt and also proved so for the SCJs working in the Congo.
In August 1964, the city of Wamba fell to the Simbas and a reign of terror began. Bishop Wittebols, SCJ, and other SCJs had to endure a forced march barefoot and were exposed to all sorts of beatings. With his eyeglasses taken from him causing him to fall down repeatedly, Bishop Wittebols died from being beaten. Many others were struck by the people gathered in the inner courtyard of a prison and shot before the eyes of all. The spectators were then forced to mutilate the lifeless bodies. Twenty-eight SCJs were killed in the context of the so-called Simba rebellion after beatings and torture:
Fr. Henry van der Vegt, Fr. Joseph Tegels, Fr. Frances ten Bosch, F. John de Vries, Fr. Henry Hams, Fr. Peter v. d. Biggelaar, Fr. Johnenter, Fr. Gerard Nieuwkamp, Br. Damian Brabers, Br. Joseph Vanderbeek, Br. Aloysius Paps, Fr. Charles Bellinckx, Fr. Leonard Janssen, Fr. Cristian Vandael, Fr. Clement Burnotte, Fr. James Moreau, Br. Andrew Laureys, Fr. Herman Bisschop, Fr. Joseph Conrad, Fr. John Trausch, Fr. Amor Aubert, Fr. Henricus Verberne, Fr. Arnold Schouenberg, Br. Arnolf Schouenberg, Fr. William Vranken, Fr. Jerome Vandemoere, Bishop Joseph Wittebols, the Servant of God Fr. Bernard Longo.
The servant of God, Fr. Bernard Longo, SCJ, was shot on November 3,1964, in Mambasa, after he had lived more than 25 years as a missionary in the Congo. A short time before his death he wrote in his diary (which was discovered two years after his death):
During this period I am fortunate that the Sacred Heart of Jesus grants me internal peace and the grace of short prayers which give me the strength to push on. As evening comes on I walk over to the convent to assure the mission sisters that the Mother of God protects us and that we must entrust ourselves to the will of the Lord, even if it is His desire to bring us to heaven by the power of a bullet (Diary P. Longo, September 29, 1964).
In a book on the life of Fr. Longo, Fr. Tessarolo, SCJ, writes:
For the love of the gospel the SCJs left their homeland to come to Africa. For the love of Christ they awaited the arrival of a chaotic revolution in the Congo even if many of them could easily have fled. As missionaries, as priests and as agents of the Church they were persecuted and killed. This is the stuff of which martyrs are made (Missionario e martire della carità, p. 232)."
