Waldar dos Santos

Who was Waldar dos Santos?

Father Waldar dos Santos was a 69 year old Brazilian Jesuit priest who was murdered in Mozambique, apparently by bandits. He and Idalina Neto Gomes, 30, a volunteer of the Portuguese Lay for Development Association were killed at the Jesuit residence in the northwestern province of Tete on November 6, 2006. Two other priests were wounded in the attack. The assailants reportedly escaped in a car belonging to the Jesuit community.

"They surprised the fathers in their rooms and immediately demanded money. One of the fathers attempted to resist and the assailants shot him dead and wounded another two ... "[a] volunteer [Neto Gomes] attempted to escape, but one of the assailants stabbed her to death. When the police arrived the thieves had already escaped with a sum of money and a vehicle of the community", according to a statement published by the missionary news agency MISNA. The same source continued, "[W]e were surprised and shocked. But the diocese of Tete has often been theatre to violence and robberies against religious and lay[persons]."