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
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