The international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) mourned the death of two Jesuit Catholic priests, Father Otto Messmer and Father Victor Betancourt Ruiz, who were found murdered on October 28 in their apartment in Moscow.
The president of ACN, Father Joaquín Alliende, wrote to the general superior of the Jesuit order, Father Adolfo Nicolás, expressing his “deep anguish” at the murder of these two priests, who had both been involved “in fruitful contacts” with ACN. He also added that the charity had “been privileged to witness their generous commitment in the service of the Catholics of Moscow.” The charity understood the sorrow of so many people in Moscow and shared the sadness of the Russian Catholic bishops’ conference and the “delicate sympathy of His Holiness Alexey II, the patriarch of Moscow and all Russia,” the letter continued.
At midday on October 29, in the chapel at the international headquarters of ACN in Königstein, near Frankfurt, Germany, Holy Mass was celebrated for the two dead priests. Said Father Alliende, “We thanked God for the richly fruitful lives of these two sons of St Ignatius of Loyola, prayed for the repose of their souls and asked God to forgive their killers and to comfort their fellow priests and family members, and also the Catholic community that has been so tragically left without a shepherd.”
In Moscow, Patriarch Alexey II also expressed his sympathies to the Catholic Church during his meeting with the chairman of the French episcopal conference, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois. Similarly, Muslim representatives in Russia have expressed their dismay at these murders and their deep sympathy. A memorial service was held on October 29 in the Catholic cathedral of Moscow at 6 p.m. local time.
The background of the killings remains unclear. Father Otto Messmer (47), the Provincial of the Jesuits in Russia, and Father Victor Betancourt Ruiz (42), from Ecuador, were apparently beaten to death. At the time they were found, it appeared they had already been dead for 24 hours. The authorities have initiated a murder enquiry, and the state prosecutor is now making wide enquiries.
Both priests were project partners of ACN.
