BL.
EUSTAQUIO van LIESHOUT, SS.CC., (1890 -1943)
born in the Netherlands, was the eighth of eleven children. After
reading the biography of Father Damien de Veuster and
his work with the lepers on Molokai, he
joined
the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
His
first assignment was as assistant novice master for his order. He was
then assigned to towns in Southern
Holland,
where he provided pastoral
care for
the many Belgian refugees. In recognition of his work, the King
of Belgium knighted
him in the Order
of Leopold.
He
then spent two years as a parochial vicar and in 1924 he was sent to
Spain to learn Spanish, in anticipation of an assignment in Uruguay.
However he ended up being sent to Brazil, where the language was
Portuguese. (God's
sense of humor). He
arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 12 of May 1925 along with two other
priests and three lay brothers, in response to an appeal by the local
bishop.
His blessings and cures of the sick through the intersession of St. Joseph made the little village a noted center of pilgrimage.This, however, brought major problems to the town. Railroads were not able to furnish transportation for the great crowds; the lack of adequate housing meant that sanitary conditions were inadequate to the need. police were no longer able to maintain order.
Merchants
sold bad food at high prices and thieves roamed the pilgrimage area
preying on innocent victims. Bl. Eustaquio was ordered to leave the
parish to prevent these conditions from continuing. Despite this,
tremendous crowds followed him everywhere. Brazilian authorities
became so alarmed that they ordered him out of towns and villages. No
one had anything against him, but they were afraid of the crowds and
the commotion that would follow him.
The Cardinal Archbishop
of Rio de Janeiro instructed
Bl. Eustaquio to leave the capital by midnight. Subsequently, a
fanatical crowd blocked traffic and invaded church rectories looking
for him. He left Poá May 1941.
Somehow,
he managed to find a hiding place and passed a year in peace and
happiness. His final appointment was as pastor of Belo
Horizonte,
where he lived the last two years of his life. He was given an
assistant who was able to control the crowds. No one was permitted to
enter the rectory without a letter of introduction. In this fashion,
he was able to devote his complete energy to the work of his parish.
After a week of sickness caused by an insect bite, he died on August
30, 1943.
He
was beatified in 2006
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