Mozambique: Priest who ran institute for blind, murdered

Fr Landry Ibil Ikwel

Source: Fides

A Congolese priest, Fr Landry Ibil Ikwel, aged 34, who ran an institute for the Beira, Mozambique, was murdered on Sunday.

In a statement, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary said: "In the face of the death of our brother Landry Ibil Ikwel, in the hospital of Beira (Mozambique) following a brutal attack in the community house in Beira, we join our hearts to those of our brothers and sisters in Africa in pain, in prayer and in trust in the one who died violently on the cross forgiving his aggressors. We ask the Lord that wherever death seeks to prevail, life prevails instead."

Fr Landry was stabbed in his community, taken to the hospital where he died due to his wounds. Investigations are underway.

Of Congolese nationality, Fr Landry entered the novitiate in 2008 and was ordained a priest three years ago, on 7 February 2016, in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was the director of the Institute of the Blind in Beira (IDV-B), which focuses on formation, rehabilitation, education, social integration of children, young people and blind adults from all over the country.

Writing about the Institute, Fr Landry said: "We believe that the Congregation has made an excellent choice in accepting the management of IDV-B. Our presence responds to our charism, mission and spirituality. It is an eloquent testimony of our 'preferential option for the poor'. We work as part of human promotion, of social inclusion of the poor. Molokai is everywhere. The missionary dynamic today invites us to go to the margins. We believe that the work of the Congregation at IDV-B is a concrete response to this call. This work is a great challenge for today's mission."