SALESIAN PRIEST MURDERED IN ECUADOR
Killed by Delinquents While Defending a Family
by George Williams
QUITO, JAN 26 After concluding a Confirmation ceremony in the Church of
Saint Francis in Guayaquil, Salesian Father Favio Rojas was killed in a bus
while attempting to stop two common delinquents from assaulting a woman
with her two children. Father Rojas, who was Colombian and 41 years of age,
was shot in the thorax, suffering severe wounds in vital organs which
caused his death a few hours later in a local clinic.
Bishop Arturo Vazquez, superior of the Salesian Community, expressed his
sorrow over losing one of his most faithful collaborators, who was very
active in the local apostolate, especially with younger children.
"His hefty physique and short hair made him look like a traffic warden or a
policeman; we often joked about this," Bishop Vazquez commented but, in
fact, the priest wore his cassock "and a cross which was very visible."
QUITO, JAN 26 After concluding a Confirmation ceremony in the Church of
Saint Francis in Guayaquil, Salesian Father Favio Rojas was killed in a bus
while attempting to stop two common delinquents from assaulting a woman
with her two children. Father Rojas, who was Colombian and 41 years of age,
was shot in the thorax, suffering severe wounds in vital organs which
caused his death a few hours later in a local clinic.
Bishop Arturo Vazquez, superior of the Salesian Community, expressed his
sorrow over losing one of his most faithful collaborators, who was very
active in the local apostolate, especially with younger children.
"His hefty physique and short hair made him look like a traffic warden or a
policeman; we often joked about this," Bishop Vazquez commented but, in
fact, the priest wore his cassock "and a cross which was very visible."
