Isidore Bakanja, 1887-1909, was an assistant mason for white colonists in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) when he was baptized at age 18 after receiving instruction from Trappists missionaries. A devout and zealous Catholic, he always carried his rosary and wore a scapular. Though not officially a catechist, he shared his new-found faith whenever he got the chance.

Later, working on a Belgian rubber plantation he was severely flogged for teaching fellow workers how to pray and for wearing his scapular.

Isidore escaped and received the last sacraments from two missionaries who urged him to forgive the man who beat him. He already had. “I shall pray for him,” he said. “When I am in heaven, I shall pray for him very much.” After six months of suffering, he died rosary in hand and scapular around his neck.

Pope John Paul II beatified Isidore on April 25, 1994, in St. Peter’s Square as a Zairian choir sang in Swahili, Ciluba and Lingala.