Every year, the Catholic Church celebrates Isidore Bakanja on August 12. This write up is about the life of Blessed Isidore, the circumstances of his ultimate sacrifice and the inspirations the Church and the society can draw from the life of the youngest African Martyrs.
Life of suffering
Isidore Bakanja worked as an Assistant Mason for white colonizers in what was then the Belgian Congo which is today known as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).His conversion and baptism on May 6, 1906, at the age of 18 years, is linked to the evangelization of Trappists missionaries. According to some write ups, the young Christian always had his rosary in hand and the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel around his neck. In addition to praying his rosary, Isidore was also a committed teacher of the Catholic doctrine. He used every opportunity to share his faith. Hence, though untrained, many referred to him as catechist. His relocation from his native village was because there were no fellow Christians with whom he could practice his faith. Away from home, Isidore worked as houseboy on a Belgian rubber plantation. Many of the Belgian expatriates were atheists who hated missionaries due to their fight for native rights and justice. Isidore soon became victim of their hatred and decided to return to his village, but those he served refused. Instead, he was ordered to stop teaching fellow workers how to pray, telling him: “You’ll have the whole village praying and no one will work!” In addition to the embargo to pray publicly and teach others to do same, Isidore was also ordered to discard his Carmelite scapular, and when he didn’t, he was flogged twice. Another time, his boss tore the scapular from Isidore’s neck, had him pinned to the ground, and then beaten with over 100 blows with a whip of elephant hide with nails on the end. He was afterwards chained to a single spot for 24 hours. When an inspector visited the plantation, Isidore was moved to another village in order to cover the ill treatments he was subjected to from the visiting supervisor. However, Isidor managed to hide in the forest, then dragged himself to the inspector. Upon sighting Isidor, the horrified inspector wrote: “I saw a man, come from the forest with his back torn apart by deep, festering, malodorous wounds, covered with filth, assaulted by flies. He leaned on two sticks in order to get near me – he wasn’t walking; he was dragging himself”. The inspector eventually took Isidore home to heal, but the young Christian knew better. When he had the opportunity to express himself, he said: “If you see my mother, or if you go to the judge, or if you meet a priest, tell them that I am dying because I am a Christian.”
I shall pray for him very much
On being informed of Isidore’s nightmare, two Trappist missionaries spent several days with him. They are said to have reported that the sick and feeble Isidore devoutly received the last sacraments. The Trappists encouraged Isidore to forgive his persecutor. In response, he assured the Trappists that he already had. “I shall pray for him. When I am in heaven, I shall pray for him very much”, he said. After six months of prayer and suffering, the young martyr died rosary in hand and scapular around his neck. It was on 15 August 1909.
Shining example
In his homily, on the celebration of the beautification of Isidore, on April 24, 1994, St Pope John Paul II said: “In an Africa that is sorely tried by ethnic strife, your shining example is an encouragement to harmony and reconciliation among the children of the same heavenly Father. You showed brotherly love to all, without distinction of race or social class, you earned the esteem and respect of your companions, many of whom were not Christians. Thus, you show us the necessary way of dialogue among men.” According to Saint, Pope JohnPaul II, “Isidore is an inspiration of reconciliation, intercultural and interreligious dialogues. One can also recognize in Isidore, the values of resilience in the face of physical and mental tortures. His uncompromising attitude of his Christian values is a challenge to all and an inspiration to the youths in contemporary Church and society.”
Inspiration
The story of Isidore reinforces the determination of Christians in persecuted areas of the world today, especially in Nigeria, where according to a Voice of America (VOA) publication “A report by a U.S-based monitoring group says Nigeria became the world’s biggest killing spot for Christians in 2020”. The witness of Isidore at the beginning of the 20th century calls to mind the horrific murder, in Sokoto, in May 2022, of Deborah Yakubu Samuel, member of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), who was stoned and then burned to death under the pretext of blasphemous messages she was accused of sending on a students’ WhatsApp group. The recurrent kidnapping of priests (even in their rectory), the cold-blooded assassinations of a number of those kidnapped and the recent June 5, 2022, mascara of more than 40 in St. Francis Catholic Church, Òwò Ondo State, all make the public practice of Christian faith in contemporary Nigeria life threatening. The paradox however is that, far from succumbing to intimidation, many Christians, especially the youths, are becoming more fervent in their external practice of their faith at the example of Saint Isidore. In addition to sacramental life, it is hoped that the renewal of Christian life will be translated to making moral, social and political choices that are based on Christian values. Contemporary Nigeria needs fearless prophetic witnessing of holistic and integral dialogue. The nation needs citizens who are consistently coherent in what they live, and practice and St. Isidore provides the inspiration for such commitment. We can trust that as patron of laity (in Democratic Republic of Congo), he can obtain for Christians today, the grace to stand up for and continually witness to Christian values of honesty, integrity and self-sacrificed for all people with whom we share common fraternity no matter their creed, status, and ideology.
• Rev. Fr. Basil Babatunde Soyoye, SMA is the Formator, SMA, International Spiritual Year Centre Calavi, Benin Republic.
