Isidore Bakanja (c. 1887 – 15 August 1909) was a Congolese Catholic layman who suffered

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

in 1909 and was

beatified 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 ...

on 24 April 1994 by

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 ...

Life

Bakanja accepted the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

faith at eighteen years of age through the ministry of

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

missionaries in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. He was a very devout convert and

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

. Bakanja had a great love for the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

that he expressed through recitation of the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

and by being invested in the

Brown Scapular The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (also known as the Brown Scapular) belongs to the habit of both the Carmelite Order and the Discalced Carmelite Order, both of which have Our Lady of Mount Carmel as their patroness. In its small form, it ...

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Ca ...

. His employers had ordered him to cease sharing

the gospel The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...

as well as remove the

scapular The scapular (from Latin ''wikt:scapula#Latin, scapulae'', "shoulders") is a Western Christianity, Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the Monasticism, monastic and Catholic devotions, devot ...

that he wore as a witness to his faith. Isidore's refusal to comply with the demands of his supervisor resulted in his being brutally beaten and chained. As a result of the beating and persistent ill treatment he received, Bakanja's wounds became severely infected. As his condition worsened his supervisor sought to keep him from the view of the

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

's inspector. However, Bakanja was discovered and taken to the inspector's home for treatment. His condition had deteriorated so severely, however, that no further medical attention could help him.

Veneration

His feast day is 15 August, on 12 August in the liturgical calendar of the

Carmelite order , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

. The National Shrine of Saint Jude, Faversham, United Kingdom contains an icon of Isidore. In 2004 a fire broke out in the Shrine Chapel which destroyed the murals which hung there, and it damaged much of the other artwork. The decision was made to install icons depicting saints inspired by the Carmelite Rule of Saint Albert, and in commemoration of the 8th centenary of the Carmelite Rule in 2007. The icons were written by Sister Petra Clare, a Benedictine hermit living in Scotland, United Kingdom.

References

British Province of Carmelites

Irondequoit Catholic Communities
* Daniel Vangroenweghe, ''Bakanja Isidore, Martyr Du Zaire: Recit Biographique'', Didier Hatier, 1989, / 2-87088-659-4, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakanja, Isidore 1887 births Carmelite Order Venerated Carmelites 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Democratic Republic of the Congo Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from pagan religions 1909 deaths Democratic Republic of the Congo beatified people Deaths by beating Democratic Republic of the Congo murder victims People murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Beatifications by Pope John Paul II 1909 murders in Africa