Andrea Santoro
Encyclopedia
Father
Andrea Santoro (born 7 September 1945, Priverno
, Italy
— died 5 February 2006, Trabzon
, Turkey
) was a Roman Catholic
priest in Turkey, murdered in the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon
where he served as a member of the Catholic Church's Fidei donum missionary
program.
On 5 September 2006 he was shot dead from behind while kneeling in prayer in the church. A witness heard the perpetrator shouting "Allahu Akbar
". A 16-year-old high school student was arrested two days after the shooting carrying a 9mm pistol. An investigation by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations on stolen weaponry in Iraq revealed that the gun was of the same type used in the supposedly Islamist attack o.n the Turkish Council of State
in 2006.
The student told police
he had been influenced by the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
. The murder was preceded by massive anti-Christian propaganda in the Turkish popular press. In the three months before his murder, Father Santoro's telephone had been tapped by the Turkish police in Trabzon.
On 10 October 2006, the accused Oğuzhan Akdin was sentenced to 18 years, 10 months, and 20 days in prison for "premeditated murder" by a Juvenile court in Trabzon
. According to the apostolic vicar to Anatolia
, Msgr. Luigi Padovese
, neither the killer nor his mother showed any remorse during the trial. She even compared her son to Mehmet Ali Ağca
, who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II
in 1981, and said that his deed "was committed in the name of Allah
and was a gift to the state and the nation".
As the murderer of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink
also came from Trabzon and also under 18 years of age, Turkish police are investigating possible connections between the slayings of Santoro and Dink. In October 2007, Turkey's Court of Appeals affirmed the jail sentence for the teenage killer of Father Santoro.
Pope Benedict XVI
recalled his martyrdom during his homily at the Shrine of Meryem Ana Evi
(House of the Virgin Mary
) in Ephesus
on 29 November 2006.
At Don Santoro's funeral at the Basilica of St. John Lateran
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the vicar of the Diocese of Rome
, mentioned in his homily that the possible beatification process for Don Santoro may be opened after February 2011.
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
Andrea Santoro (born 7 September 1945, Priverno
Priverno
Priverno is a town and comune in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy.It has a station of the Rome-Naples railway mainline. Nearby is the Monti Lepini chain.-History:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
— died 5 February 2006, Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) was a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Turkey
The Roman Catholic Church in Turkey is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. There are around 35,000 Catholics, constituting 0.05% of the population. The faithful follow the Latin, Byzantine, Armenian and Chaldean Rite...
priest in Turkey, murdered in the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
where he served as a member of the Catholic Church's Fidei donum missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
program.
On 5 September 2006 he was shot dead from behind while kneeling in prayer in the church. A witness heard the perpetrator shouting "Allahu Akbar
Takbir
The Takbīr or Tekbir is the Arabic term for the phrase ' . It is usually translated "God is [the] Greatest," or "God is Great". It is a common Islamic Arabic expression...
". A 16-year-old high school student was arrested two days after the shooting carrying a 9mm pistol. An investigation by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations on stolen weaponry in Iraq revealed that the gun was of the same type used in the supposedly Islamist attack o.n the Turkish Council of State
Turkish Council of State
The Turkish Council of State is the highest administrative court in the Republic of Turkey and is based in Ankara. Its role and tasks are prescribed by the Constitution of Turkey within the articles on the supreme courts....
in 2006.
The student told police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
he had been influenced by the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
. The murder was preceded by massive anti-Christian propaganda in the Turkish popular press. In the three months before his murder, Father Santoro's telephone had been tapped by the Turkish police in Trabzon.
On 10 October 2006, the accused Oğuzhan Akdin was sentenced to 18 years, 10 months, and 20 days in prison for "premeditated murder" by a Juvenile court in Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
. According to the apostolic vicar to Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, Msgr. Luigi Padovese
Luigi Padovese
Luigi Padovese was the titular bishop of Monteverde and the vicar apostolic of Anatolia in Turkey. He was murdered by his driver on June 3, 2010.-Biography:...
, neither the killer nor his mother showed any remorse during the trial. She even compared her son to Mehmet Ali Ağca
Mehmet Ali Agca
Mehmet Ali Ağca is a Turkish assassin who murdered left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on February 1, 1979 and later shot and wounded Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981, after escaping from a Turkish prison. After serving 19 years of imprisonment in Italy, he was deported to Turkey, where he served a...
, who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in 1981, and said that his deed "was committed in the name of Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
and was a gift to the state and the nation".
As the murderer of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
also came from Trabzon and also under 18 years of age, Turkish police are investigating possible connections between the slayings of Santoro and Dink. In October 2007, Turkey's Court of Appeals affirmed the jail sentence for the teenage killer of Father Santoro.
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
recalled his martyrdom during his homily at the Shrine of Meryem Ana Evi
House of the Virgin Mary
The House of the Virgin Mary is a Christian and Muslim shrine located on Mt...
(House of the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
) in Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
on 29 November 2006.
At Don Santoro's funeral at the Basilica of St. John Lateran
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the vicar of the Diocese of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, mentioned in his homily that the possible beatification process for Don Santoro may be opened after February 2011.
External links
- Homily by Andrea RiccardiAndrea RiccardiAndrea Riccardi is the founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio. "The Community of Saint Egidio was born in 1968 in Rome and is made up of more than 70,000 persons in more than 70 countries actively involved above all in evangelization and in the service to one’s neighbor, especially the most...
, founder of the Community of Sant'EgidioCommunity of Sant'EgidioThe Community of Sant'Egidio is a Christian community that is officially recognized by the Catholic Church as a "Church public lay association". It claims 50,000 members in more than 70 countries...
in memory of Andrea Santoro