Eugene John Hebert was an American-born

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He along with his

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

driver Betram Francis

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

on August 15, 1990 as the Sri Lankan civil war was raging. He went missing on his way to the eastern city of

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

from a nearby town of

Valaichchenai Valaichchenai ( ta, வாழைச்சேனை ''Valaichchenai''; si, වාලසේන / වාලච්චේන ''waalasena / Valaichchena'') is a town in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It could also be spelled as Valaichenai or Vala ...

. He was known for his

Human Rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

activity on behalf of the local civilians. The

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

believe that he was killed along with his driver.

Biography

Eugene John Hebert was born in

Jennings, Louisiana Jennings is a city in, and the parish seat of, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,383 at the 2010 census, a small decline from the 2000 tabulation. The city is 68 percent white. Jennings is ...

United States, on October 9, 1923. He joined the

on August 14, 1941 at the age of 17. After completion of Jesuit studies, he volunteered for the

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. He was accepted and arrived in September 1948. After serving a year in the eastern township of

and another in

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

at the Jesuit Colleges he went to

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, India, for the study of

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was ordained a priest on 24 March 1954. After returning to Sri Lanka in April 1956, he was assigned to St Joseph’s College in Trincomalee as a teacher and sports coach from 1956 to 1978. He was named principal there for a brief period. In the 1960s, private schools including Catholic colleges were taken over by the State, and Hebert was sent to Batticaloa to work at the Eastern Technical Institute, the joint Jesuit and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

technical institute, as its director. He was also the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach from 1978 to 1990 at St Michael’s College in Batticaloa, where he achieved national championship status over several years. Hebert was a prominent member of the Batticaloa Peace Committee that has interceded on behalf of the many

and missing people as part of the Sri Lankan civil war with both the Sri Lankan government officials and the rebel

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

(LTTE) group.

Incident

During the mid part of August in 1990, there were number of

massacres A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

and counter massacres of civilians targeting both the minority

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

communities. Perpetrators were alleged to be the rebel LTTE as well as government soldiers belonging to various divisions. Following the massacre of a group of Muslims in the Kathankudy Mosque, the situation at the nearby ethnically mixed town of Valachchenai became tense with unruly Muslim mobs roving around targeting Tamils. Most Tamils from Valachchenai fled to refugee camps in the provincial capital of Batticaloa leaving behind a group of Catholic sisters, some girls and helpers trapped in a convent. The Bishop of

sent Eugene Hebert on August 13 to Valachchenai to assist the trapped sisters and others as well as a security guarantee against an attack. On August 15, the Bishop of Batticaloa organized a security convoy from the city to bring back the trapped sisters and others. He informed Hebert to accompany the convoy on its way back from Valachchenai to Batticaloa. Instead Hebert informed the bishop that as the situation was getting better he would leave on his own via a circuitous route through an ethnically mixed town called

Eravur Eravur is a town in the Batticaloa District of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, it is located about north-west of Batticaloa. It is governed by the Eravur Urban Council Eravur Urban Council (EUC) is the local authority for the town of Eravur in east ...

to Batticaloa as he had urgent matters to take care at the institute where he was the director. Hebert along with a Tamil boy Betram Francis was last seen riding a red

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...

scooter towards Batticaloa via Eravur.

Reactions

Sri Lankan government The Sri Lankan government believes that Hebert was killed by the rebel LTTE who were active around the Eravur area at the time of his disappearance. This apparently was in response to a written request for explanation by the local American Embassy. Amnesty International An Amnesty International report dated 1990 urged the Sri Lankan government to continue the investigation into the disappearance of Eugene Hebert. It noted that the local investigation by the local military authorities was inconclusive. Jesuits Local Jesuits such as Harry Miller believe that a mob of civilians may have waylaid and killed Hebert and Betram Francis and destroyed any evidence of the crime. The Jesuit organization believes that he is definitely dead due to foul play.

References

External links

List of matyred JesuitsSRI LANKA: Father Eugene Hebet and Betram Francis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hebert, Eugene John 1923 births 1990 deaths 1990s missing person cases 20th-century American Jesuits American emigrants to Sri Lanka American people murdered abroad American Roman Catholic missionaries American Roman Catholic priests Catholics from Louisiana Missing people Missing person cases in Sri Lanka People from Jennings, Louisiana People murdered in Sri Lanka Roman Catholic missionaries in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Jesuits

Biography

Incident

Reactions

See also

References

External links