«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.»
This is the statement of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, sent to Fides News Agency, on the tragic death of Fr. Landry Ibil Ikwel, 34, killed on May 19 in Beira. The priest 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 February 7, 2016, in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was the director of the Institute of the blind in Beira (IDV-B), a structure whose mission is formation, rehabilitation, education, social integration of children, young people and blind adults from all over the country, ensuring everyone an adequate education according to individual abilities, and thus making them emerge from the marginalization to which the society relegates them.
On presenting the Institute, Fr. Landry wrote: «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.»
