A year dedicated to Isidore Bakanja

On 12th August we celebrated the Memorial of Blessed Isidore Bakanja, born between 1880 and 1890 in Mbilankamba in the Congo (Zaire). He was baptized on the 6th May 1906 and received the scapular as a sign of his dignity as God's child, together with the rosary a sign of his continuous prayer. He began to work for a Belgian colonial company and was whipped by his atheistic manager who ordered him to remove his scapular. Isidore died some days later, either on the 8th or 15th of August 1909, pardoning his tormentor.The Catholic laity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have decided to dedicate a whole year to the memory of Isidore Bakanja. The year will run from August 2008 to August 2009 and will serve as an "awakening of the laity" according to Don Ambroise Mutshembe, secretary of the Episcopal Commission for the Apostolate of the Laity. For canonization a miracle through Blessed Isidore's intercession is necessary, but above all it is important to make known the witness of this young apostle and martyr, who took seriously his Baptismal vocation.