"When you read a headline about priests being murdered at Mass, who comes to mind? Almost certainly, you think of Fr. Jacques Hamel, who died last month at the hands of Muslim terrorists during Mass in the small French town of Saint Etienne-du-Rouvray, in Normandy.
"If your mind stretches beyond the horror of Fr. Hamel's death, his throat slashed by ISIS sympathizers, then you probably think next of Blessed Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador. Archbishop Romero was assassinated while celebrating Mass in the chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence on March 24, 1980. Just one day before his death, Romero had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to stop aiding the government's repression and violation of basic human rights, and to instead obey the laws of God. For that, he was shot while praying at the altar.
"The priest I have in mind, though, is not Father Hamel, not Archbishop Romero, but a humble Franciscan priest who served as pastor of St. Elizabeth's in Denver, Colorado in 1907-1908.
Fr. Leo Heinrichs was born in Germany but fled persecution under Otto von Bismarck's Kulturkampf, arriving in the United States in the 1880s. With his fellow seminarians, he settled at St. Bonaventure's Friary in Paterson, New Jersey. He professed his final vows on December 8, 1890, and was ordained to the priesthood in July 1891."
In a recent commentary, writer Kathy Schiffer reflected on the murder (martyrdom?) of Father Heinrichs as he was distributing Holy Communion at Mass on Sunday, 23 February 1908, at Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Church, Denver, Colorado.
To access Ms. Schiffer’s complete post, please visit:
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Kathy Schiffer: 108 Years Ago, This Priest's Murder at Mass Shocked the U.S. (23 AUG 16)
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