Benjamin David de Jesus, OMI (25 July 1940 – 4 February 1997) was a Philippine prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Apostolic Vicar of Jolo from 1992 until his murder in 1997. He was the first Filipino bishop to be assassinated in the history of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...

Biography

Benjamin David de Jesus was born in the Hulong Duhat district of

Malabon Malabon, officially the City of Malabon ( fil, Lungsod ng Malabon), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people. Located just north ...

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...

(now part of

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

) on 25 July 1940. He was ordained a priest as a member of the

Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary Congregation of Papal Right, religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a France, French priest born in Aix-en-Provence ...

on 29 December 1967. On 11 October 1991,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named him titular bishop of

Bladia Henchir-Baldia is an archaeological site and locality in southern Tunisia. The stone ruins are tentatively associated with Bladia, a civitas of the Roman province of Byzacena during the Roman Empire. It was a Catholic bishopric. Bladia was the seat ...

and Apostolic Vicar of Jolo. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 1992 from Pope John Paul. He was installed in Jolo on 15 February. He was shot six times and killed outside the cathedral on Jolo on 4 February 1997. A female bystander was killed and several others were wounded. Authorities blamed

Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf (; ar, جماعة أبو سياف; ', ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is based i ...

, a Muslim group intent on disrupting interreligious rapprochement. The crime remains unsolved. De Jesus was entombed in the Jolo Cathedral. His assassination is commemorated annually, usually with demonstrations of Christian-Muslim solidarity. The Ben de Jesus College Library at

Notre Dame of Midsayap College Notre Dame of Midsayap College (Tagalog: ''Dalubhasaang Notre Dame ng Midsayap'' or ''Kolehiyong Notre Dame ng Midsayap'') (colloquially known as ''NDMC'' or simply ''Notre Dame'') is a private, Catholic basic and higher education institution r ...

is named after him.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Bishop Benjamin David de Jesus, O.M.I.
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Jesus, Benjamin David 1940 births 1997 deaths People from Malabon Assassinated people People murdered in the Philippines Unsolved murders in the Philippines 1997 murders in the Philippines Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate