His priesthood inspired by Damien, Father Eustaquio is himself beatified
By Patrick Downes, Hawaii Catholic Herald
Father Eustaquio Van Lieshout, a native of Holland who, inspired by the example of Blessed Damien de Veuster of Molokai, became a priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, was beatified June 15 in an open-air Mass in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, celebrated by Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes.
After Blessed Damien, he is the second member of his order to be beatified.
Blessed Eustaquio was born Humbert van Lieshout, the eighth of 11 children of a devout farming family in Aarle-Rixtel, Holland, on Nov. 3, 1890.
From a young age, he was determined to follow the call to priesthood, but was discouraged to do so by a teacher who did not see him fit for that vocation and his father who initially wanted him to work on the farm.
After reading a biography of Father Damien de Veuster, the young Humbert decided to join the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. Studies proved difficult, especially languages, but his teachers recognized and encouraged his dedication, will and disposition toward the missionary religious life.
He entered the novitiate on Sept. 23, 1913, taking the religious name Eustaquio. He made his final vows on March 18, 1918, and was ordained a priest Aug. 10, 1919.
Father Eustaquio’s first priestly assignments were in his own country. For a period of five years he worked first with minority refugees and then as an associate pastor in a parish.
He was then assigned to a Sacred Hearts mission in Brazil, arriving in Rio de Janeiro on May 12, 1925. He spent 18 years in that country, 10 in Agua Suja (1925-1935), six in Poa (1935-1941) and the last two years of his life in brief stays in a series of congregational houses and parishes.
In Agua Suja, his parishioners scraped out an insecure living panning for gold along the Bagagem River. Father Eustaguio dedicated himself completely to his people, caring for them physically and spiritually. His ministry bore great fruit in easing their suffering and bringing healing.
At his next assignment was Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Poa, a poor section of the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo. Once again, he dedicated himself with great zeal, visiting the sick, the poor and the children.
Around 1937, Father Eustaquio began to manifest a particular gift of healing through the intercession of Saint Joseph. As his reputation grew, tens of thousands of people flocked to Poa seeking his prayers and intercession, so much so that his superiors felt obligated to transfer him away from there. He left Poa May 13, 1941.
The last two years of his life were spent moving from place to place as large groups of people seeking help, counsel and healing followed him everywhere. He was eventually assigned to Ibia, in Minas Gerais, a distance from the crowds, where he could minister as a pastor once again. He was then assigned to a poor parish in Belo Horizonte where he began the construction of a church.
In addition to performing his ordinary parish activities, Father Eustaquio received about 40 people a day for confession, a number controlled by the distribution of tickets by his superiors.
He contracted a fatal illness from a person he was caring for, and died 10 days later on Aug. 30, 1943, at age 52.
The process for his beatification began in 1949.