The Spanish Salesian missionary Antonio César Fernández was shot dead on the afternoon of Feb. 15. He was killed in an ambush by a Jihadist group 25 miles from the country's southern border. Along with him, five others died.
A few days earlier, Fr. Antonio made this video sharing how proud he was of his vocation.
“The Salesian vocation is a grace of the Lord. A series of intertwined graces. So all I can say is that I have received many blessings from the Lord.”
Fr. Antonio César was born in Córdoba. He had been a missionary in Africa since 1982. He was director and parish priest in his community in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He was 72 years old, 55 of which he spent as a religious.
The congregation has received many messages lamenting the atrocious murder. Even the president of Spain expressed his condolences on Twitter.
Fr. Antonio César joins many other martyrs of the Church. A man who dedicated his life to helping the most underprivileged in Africa, which he considered “the land of his dreams.”
