Martyr in Burundi

Chapter 5. Persecution

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A classroom full of children willing to learn

Father Marchiol was among the missionaries expelled from Burundi by the dictator Bagaza who wanted to rid his country of the Catholic Church; some missionaries were imprisoned and others severely restricted in their movements and activity.

Father Aldo left on April 3, 1987. He had expected this to happen, and said so in a letter to the Superior General on March 18: “It is better that I go elsewhere and begin again, if possible, a missionary activity. At the moment I have nothing to do during the whole week, except on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Our ministry has been reduced to the bare minimum. My resident’s permit expires on 25 March and, unless it is renewed, I shall leave immediately without asking for an extension”.

We missionaries should be stirring up within them true Christian sentiments, but there are not many of us left and we do not count very much anyway. I am saddened more by the passive acceptance of the persecution than by the persecution itself.  This is a suicidal gesture.
Fr. Aldo Marchiol

Two days later, in another letter to the Superior General, he complained about the silence and the fear of the Church in Burundi: “I may be too pessimistic, but the priests do not even have the courage to pray in their assemblies for their brother priests who are in prison.

This is true paganism. We missionaries should be stirring up within them true Christian sentiments, but there are not many of us left and we do not count very much anyway. I am saddened more by the passive acceptance of the persecution than by the persecution itself. This is a suicidal gesture.

We will press ahead in Burundi, but who knows for how long. On the other hand, it may be no bad thing for this Church to experience persecution: her faith and commitment will be put to the test, and its pastors and faithful will have to waken up and become more aware of their Christian identity. I think we are reaching the stage when we will have to decide whether or not to remain here.

I suffer whenever I hear priests say that it is enough to be Christians and that we don’t have to be part of the hierarchical Church; it is enough that we do as much good as possible. Everyone commands in this Church except the bishops. At the end of January, hostile excerpts from a little green book were read out in churches throughout the entire country; in some cases, it was read out by catechists and some mayors during Mass. Confusion reigns! Yet the bishops tell us not to speak out. How are we to defend the flock of Christ? Some missionaries steer a middle course and do everything they can to remain at all costs. This is not the correct way of going about things!”.

Fr. Aldo after his expulsion from Burundi

Useless servants

His resident’s permit was not renewed and so, after nine years in Burundi, he was forced to return to Italy. The memory of Burundi accompanied him, causing him some bitterness and sadness.

The Superior General wrote him an affectionate letter of encouragement: “I just want you to know that I am with you in this moment of suffering following your expulsion from Burundi; I shall remember you in my prayers. What you feared would happen has indeed come to pass. May God’s will be done; we are servants of the Church and the Kingdom of God and when they tell us we no longer wanted, we leave, even though our hearts are sad at the separation from places and people we love, leaving communities without a pastor. God is great and he will provide.

I hope you are keeping well and getting some rest. Make yourself available for any ministry requests but without tiring yourself. Little by little, you will learn to accept this heavy blow. Take care of your health and have yourself examined by a doctor. We will see later what can be done about the future. We have no lack of offers of missionary work”.

Father Marchiol took his superior’s advice: he got some rest, medical treatment and attended a year of updating courses in Rome. Meanwhile, in another coup in Burundi, Bagaza was overthrown by Major Buyoya. In 1988, there was further bloodshed between the Hutu and the Tutsi in which tens of thousands of people died or were made refugees. The world decided to intervene and international pressure forced the government to make some progress towards democracy.

One of the first signs was the permission given for the return of the expelled missionaries. Fr. Aldo was destined once again to Burundi and, since his visa was taking a long time, he asked the Superior General if he could go to nearby Zaire while he waited for authorization to return to Burundi. This was granted but, in the meantime, he was given permission to return to Burundi.

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