Isidore Bakanja

Blessed Isidore Bakanja
Martyr
Born	c. 1887 Bokendela, Congo Free State
Died	15 August 1909 (aged 21-22) Busira, Belgian Congo
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	24 April 1994, Saint Peter's Square by Pope John Paul II
Feast	15 August, 12 August (Carmelites)

Isidore Bakanja (c. 1887 – 15 August 1909) was a Congolese Catholic layman and bricklayer who suffered martyrdom in 1909 and was beatified on 24 April 1994 by Pope John Paul II. Due to the nature of his martyrdom, he is sometimes referred to as "martyr of the Brown scapular".

Life

Bakanja was baptised into the Roman Catholic Church at eighteen years of age through the ministry of Trappist missionaries in the Belgian Congo. He was a very devout convert and catechist. Bakanja had a great love for the Blessed Virgin Mary that he expressed through recitation of the rosary and by being invested in the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. His Belgian colonist employers had ordered him to cease sharing the gospel as well as remove the Brown scapular that he wore. Isidore's refusal to comply with the demands of his supervisor resulted in his being brutally beaten and chained.

As a result of the beating and persistent ill treatment he received, Bakanja's wounds became severely infected. As his condition worsened his supervisor sought to keep him from the view of the plantation's inspector. However, Bakanja was discovered and taken to the inspector's home for treatment. His condition had deteriorated so severely, however, that no further medical attention could help him. At this point Isidore told the inspector "tell them that I am dying because I am a Christian." Missionaries in the area visited Isidore and urged him to forgive the supervisor. He assured them that he already had, declaring "When I am in heaven, I shall pray for him very much." In the following months, more than 4,000 baptisms were recorded in the Busira area, which was seen as the fruit of Bakanja's martyrdom.

Veneration

His feast day is 15 August, on 12 August in the liturgical calendar of the Carmelite order.

The National Shrine of Saint Jude, Faversham, United Kingdom contains an icon of Isidore. In 2004 a fire broke out in the Shrine Chapel which destroyed the murals which hung there, and it damaged much of the other artwork. The decision was made to install icons depicting saints inspired by the Rule of Saint Albert, and in commemoration of the 8th centenary of the Carmelite rule in 2007.

References

• British Province of Carmelites
• Irondequoit Catholic Communities
• Daniel Vangroenweghe, Bakanja Isidore, Martyr Du Zaire: Recit Biographique, Didier Hatier, 1989, ISBN 2-87088-659-4 / 2-87088-659-4, ISBN 978-2-87088-659-5
• Butler's Lives of the Saints: August, p. 158, at Google Books