Blessed martyrs of Izabal, Guatemala

A middle-aged priest and a young lay catechist were beatified Saturday in Morales, Izabal, Guatemala. They were both members of the Franciscan family – Fray Tulio Maruzzo was a friar of the Order of Friars Minor and Luis Obdulio Arroyo was a member of the Secular Franciscans, often referred to as the Third Order.

They were killed, after being brutally beaten, on July 1, 1981, in Los Amates, Quiriguá, in the midst of the fierce repression that Guatemala experienced for decades.

They were as the words behind the altar read “ disciples, missionaries, martyrs.”

In 1960 Fray Tulio left his native Italy to serve the Guatemalan people, where he served in several parishes in Izabal, in the northeast part of the country. Fray Tulio worked with the catechists, the base communities, and the delegates of the word, who led Sunday celebrations when the priest could not come. He introduced Cursillos into his parish. He also could not ignore the injustice and spoke out for the poor. His intent was to help the campesinos legalize the land they cultivated. But the powers, especially the large land-owners, threatened him and eventually killed him.  

Luis Obdulio Arroyo was 31 years old when he was martyred with Fray Tulio. He was a humble man, eager to serve. As Cardinal Becciu said in his homily:

Witnesses remember him as a man who, without making a lot of noise, knew how to find concrete responses to the problems of the community putting his time and his abilities at the disposition [of the community]. He was always available to transport in his car someone who was injured or a woman about to give birth, even at night. He offered himself to do small electrical or mechanical repairs; but his specialty was to serve as chauffeur of the Franciscans and of sisters when they had to go to the most distant villages of Quiriguá.

Even when Fray Tulio was receiving threats, Luis Obdulio continued to serve at the side of his pastor. He said, “It would be very cowardly to abandon him and I will not do that.”

Under the influence of the Franciscans in the parish, Luis Obdulio became a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis and participated in the Cursillos de la Cristiandad, a movement of spiritual renewal. He also served as a catechist. He was returning with Fray Tulio from working with the Cursillos when they were stopped, beaten, and killed.

I was struck by Luis Obdulio, the first native Guatemalan beatified, one of the few lay persons beatified in Latin America. He may also be the first blessed who is shown wearing blue jeans in the official image, at the side of Fray Tulio in his habit.

When I read in the church in Morales that he used to take people to the hospital in the parish car, I was stopped in my tracks and found myself near tears. Our parish just obtained a car, with the help of our sister parish, St. Thomas Aquinas church in Ames, Iowa. Though we’ve only had it for about two weeks, it has already served to make three trips. And our driver is a campesino with a heart of gold, given to service.

I see Blessed Luis Obdulio as one of the holy people of God whom we so often miss, the quiet and humble persons who serve God and their neighbors without fanfare. I pray that he may guide our ministry here in our parish in Honduras and inspire many to holiness.

I also see Blessed Luis as but one of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children killed in Latin America, many of them witnesses to the faith – catechists, delegates of the Word, human rights workers, women religious, and priests – whom we need to remember as witnesses to the Reign of God, a Reign of justice, love, and peace.

The Mass was simple, yet beautiful, with thousands present. The Rite of Beatification and the Mass were in Spanish (with the decree read first in Latin) but there were prayers in Italian, Q'eqchi', and in the language of the Garifuna. A group of the Garifuna brought the gifts to the altar during the Offertory. 

It was a truly celebration of life in the face of death.

I was also moved by the presentation and incensing of the relics of the two martyrs - Fray Tulio's habit and stole and Luis Odbulio's shirt - simple signs of lives lived in simplicity, service, and holy love.

I feel renewed in my mission. I pray that our parish, our diocese, and the church may live the signs of the Reign of God that I saw on a banner on the road into Morales: 

PEACE, LOVE, JUSTICE, FREEDOM