Martyr in Burundi

Chapter 7. We need Wise People

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The tomb of the Martyrs of Buyengero, representing all people who have lost their lives of a violent death

When asked what he thought about the future of Burundi, Father Marchiol replied: “It is difficult to say. It is still too early to make forecasts about stability because the hatred and the violence have left the people in a state of inner turmoil. In my opinion, the only solution to the conflict would be if the two sides learned to live together in a democratic process, even if this takes a long time. We need wise people, both in political and Church circles, who know how to promote justice and love”.

A few days after this interview, he returned to Burundi to resume his missionary work among the people he loved. Father Marchiol returned to Africa for the last time to announce the Gospel of peace and justice. This time he was assigned to Buyengero, a rather peaceful area, where the Xaverians had a well-equipped mission center. He took the place of Father Modesto Todeschi, the Regional superior, who had moved to the capital Bujumbura in order to follow developments more closely. Father Marchiol arrived in the middle of January 1995 and joined Father Ottorino Maule and the lay volunteer Catina Gubert.

In November 1994, two serious incidents had occurred: Fathers Todeschi and Maule had for some time been speaking out against the injustice and violence perpetrated by the army. They demanded an explanation from army officials. Father Maule often said publicly that if the authorities really wanted peace then they would have to move the army out of the area. He insisted that the local people were peaceful and that the only deaths had been caused by the soldiers. He repeated these words in a peace assembly in early November. At the same meeting, he decided to write to the President. 

The Truth from the Rooftops

The soldiers finally reacted: one day they stopped Father Maule and searched his car. They prevented him from taking care of a sick boy, who was then detained and severely beaten. They threatened, insulted, provoked and jeered at Father Maule on several occasions. On the night of November 14, at a road block, the soldiers killed 5 herdsmen, among whom were two young sons of a Tutsi soldier. When they realized their mistake, they rounded up and killed about fifteen men and boys. The radio broadcasted the news that fifteen terrorists had been killed shortly after they had attacked the soldiers, and that the two Tutsi boys had been killed accidentally in the crossfire. Father Maule and Father Todeschi knew that this was not true, and said so publicly.

The only solution to the conflict would be if the two sides learned to live together in a democratic process, even if this takes a long time. We need wise people, both in political and Church circles, who know how to promote justice and love.
Fr. Aldo Marchiol

Father Todeschi recalled what happened next: “The following day, the officer in charge of the military unity in Rumonge and his lieutenant tried to convince us that the radio version was true. We told him that we could testify to the fact that no attack had taken place, nor had there been any fighting: the simple truth was that innocent people had been murdered.

Two days later, the soldiers organized a meeting at which the governor of Bururi was also present. We were not invited. The missionaries, especially Father Maule, were subjected to a “people’s trial” in their absence. Three Tutsi made false and absurd accusations against us. The assembly asked that Father Maule be expelled from Burundi. No one dared to open their mouth in his defense in what was a well orchestrated event. We prayed to Romero on that occasion! Later, calm returned and there was no more friction; Buyengero actually seemed to be the most peaceful mission and so it remained until that fateful September 30, 1995”.

Father Todeschi, however, admitted that Father Maule and the others spoke about the possibility of a vendetta, and even joked about it. They all agreed that if something happened to them, they would be buried in Burundi like their poor people.

This was the climate Father Aldo found when he arrived in Buyengero. He immediately got on well with Father Maule. They undertook systematic visits to the communities in the more than a hundred hill areas surrounding the parish. Father Aldo was happy with his new missionary work, he had always dreamed of a direct activity among the poorest people. Father Maule was fond of him and held him in high esteem. They visited the Christians, they formed catechists and village leaders, spreading comfort, encouragement, and sharing the people’s life. 

Just, and Ready for Anything

The bishop of Bujumbura remembered Father Aldo in an interview: “I recall him very well when he was a member of my diocese during the time he spent in Gasorgwe and Gisanze. Among the priests he stood out for his brotherly charity. I remember asking him how he coped with the rigors of life here considering that his health was not very good. He replied that he was prepared to give his last drop of energy to the missions. I never thought that he would meet such a violent end until the day I heard of the fathers’ protest at what the soldiers had done in Buyengero. Then I realized that they were in danger, the same danger faced by anyone who stands up for truth and justice in Burundi”.

Father Marchiol was aware of the danger he was in. In one of his last letters, he wrote to his brother: “If they decide to attack foreigners, the Xaverians will be the first to be killed”. Nevertheless, he continued his work with Father Maule. They went out like the apostles, who were sent by Jesus two by two to preach the Good News in the villages of Palestine. They set out, armed only with the faith. 

Fr. Aldo Marchiol: As missionaries and Christians, we must not fall victims to hatred

In defense of love and justice

On August 21, 1995, the Xaverians held an assembly in Bujumbura to answer the question: “Why should we stay in Burundi?” Father Marchiol also took part. He had already replied to the question: the Xaverians had to stay because the people needed someone to defend the cause of love and justice.

They could not abandon the people of Burundi to their fate. He had been in Burundi for 17 years at that point, and he was determined to remain there as long as his strength allowed him. On September 26, 1995, four days before his death, Father Marchiol took part in a meeting in Bururi to plan the new pastoral year. They discussed how peace could be restored to Burundi through truth and justice. Father Aldo said that only through patience and courage could peace, the gift of God and the result of human struggles, be achieved.

September 30, 1995 seemed a day like any other in peaceful Buyengero. In the evening, three soldiers arrived and entered the fathers’ house. They made Father Marchiol, Father Maule and Catina Gubert kneel down in the middle of the biggest room and killed them. Father Maule was shot once in the temple, Father Marchiol and Catina twice. Father Aldo’s kind smile was extinguished forever.

The funeral took place on October 3. Three bishops, Xaverian missionaries, members of the Missionaries of Africa, Dominicans, Burundian priests and sisters, the President of the Republic, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, a minister, the ambassadors of Italy, Germany and Belgium, the governor of the province and a huge number of ordinary people took part, refusing to surrender to fear. The killers were arrested and later released. The instigators of these murders were never identified. 

To Stay in Africa, Not Counting the Cost

No words were needed: the people knew that the three victims had died as martyrs of justice and peace. Those who killed them thought that they would be silenced, but their voices are now heard more clearly than ever.

Bernard Bududira, the bishop of Bururi who was abroad when the funeral was celebrated, sent a message: “The ignominious events that have taken place in the parish of Buyengero are the climax of the monstrous calamities that our country knows only too well. The murder of Fathers Ottorino, Aldo and Catina Gubert cast shame upon us. But we must not fall victim to hatred and division; Fathers Maule and Marchiol have always encouraged us not to follow the logic of conflict. I invite you to pray that God our Father will help us imitate the example of our friends who have just been cruelly murdered”.

Father Aldo Marchiol, the missionary with the kind smile, now rests in Africa, in front of the parish Church, with his two fellow martyrs. His family wanted to bury him in Italy, but they accepted the wishes of the Xaverians to have him buried in Africa. His tomb is a reminder to suffering people that hatred will not have the last word, that only peace and reconciliation will build a new Burundi, a new world. Father Marchiol had done his duty to the last.

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