Alphonsus Lambe ( Tullmore, Ireland, 24 June 1932 –

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, 21 January 1959) known as Alfie Lambe was an Irish-born Roman Catholic lay-missionary and envoy of the

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civi ...

to South America.

Background

Born at

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, midlands reg ...

, County Offaly to a farming family, as a youth he considered a vocation with the

Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...

but had to leave due to chronic poor health and fainting attacks. Alfie was described as a quiet boy who was shy, loved reading and going on hunting trips with his father. Having to leave the Christian Brothers was devastating for him but he was soon introduced to the Legion of Mary by his brother. Alfie later found work in Dublin and spent time volunteering in the Morning Star hostel. Frank Duff chose Alfie to become the Legion's envoy to South America. He left Ireland on 16 July 1953 accompanied by Seamus Grace, on their way to Bogota. He went to serve in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, Brazil, as well as

, where he died in

at age 26 from stomach cancer. He is interred in the vault of the Irish Christian Brothers, in Buenos Aires's Recoleta Cemetery. It is said that his missionary work for the Legion of Mary was greatly helped by his ability to learn languages as he quickly became fluent in both Spanish and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. He was kidnapped, briefly, but his captors granted him a phone call to prove who he was so he called the Irish Ambassador to vouch for him and this resulted in his release. While in Argentina he also learned Russian with the intention of visiting the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

but he died before that intention could be realised. On each anniversary of his death there are celebrations throughout South America in his honour by the members of the Legion of Mary.

Cause of beatification and canonization

The cause of

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

for Alfie Lambe was introduced by the

Archdiocese of Buenos Aires The Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (''Archidioecesis Bonaerensis'') is one of thirteen Latin Metropolitan archdioceses of the Catholic Church in Argentina, South America. The Archbishopric of Buenos Aires is the Primatial see (protocollary first-r ...

in 1978 and concluded on 26 March 2015. On 17 January 2020 the Ordinary Causes of Congress of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Brosel Gavila José Jaime being appointed postulator for the cause to take forward the process of the potential

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

of Alfie Lambe.

References

Links

Profile of Alphonsus Lambe @ philadelphiasenatus.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambe, Alfie 1932 births 1959 deaths Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Argentina Deaths from stomach cancer Irish Roman Catholic missionaries Irish Servants of God Irish expatriates in Argentina Irish expatriates in Brazil Irish expatriates in Colombia Irish expatriates in Ecuador Irish expatriates in Uruguay People from Tullamore, County Offaly Roman Catholic activists Roman Catholic missionaries in Argentina Roman Catholic missionaries in Brazil Roman Catholic missionaries in Colombia Roman Catholic missionaries in Ecuador Roman Catholic missionaries in Uruguay