June 25, marks the 50th anniversary of the martyrdom of Friar Casimir CYPHER, OFM Conv. (December 1, 1941- June 25, 1975).
We continue to pray for the canonization of Friar Casimir. He is being promoted as an icon of Gospel commitment because of his love of God, his love of the people whom he died serving, and his love of Creation which he had hoped to promote.
A Franciscan with the Littleness of a Child, Simple, and Willing to Serve
On June 25, 1975, Friar Casimir Cypher OFM Conv., drove his borrowed pickup into the city of Juticalpa for repairs. He was unaware that the National Union of Campesinos had organized a demonstration that day for better implementation of land reform legislation. Hearing gunshots, Fr. Casimir ran toward the commotion.
Knowing that he was a priest, soldiers arrested him. He was stripped in the town square, ridiculed, and beaten. Along with another priest, Fr. Ivan Betancort, two of Fr. Ivan’s companions, and ten campesino leaders, Friar Casimir was brutally tortured and executed. His body and those of the others killed with him were then thrown into a deep well and dynamited in an attempt to cover up the massacre.
Friar Casimir Cypher along with thirteen other people, was brutally humiliated, savagely tortured, and killed. His body was thrown down a well. Friar Casimir was only 34 years old. Read more about the life of Friar Casimir
50th Anniversary Symposium
A symposium was held in late May for the 50th anniversary of Friar Casimir Cypher’s death. The event took place in the auditorium of the Campus Santa Clara in Juticalpa in Hondura
The two-day symposium included presentations on the historical and ecclesial context relevant to Friar Casimir’s life and mission, and the missionary-pastoral challenges facing the Church in Honduras.
For the past four years, Friar Juan Alonzo Pagoada Acosta, Vice-Postulator of the cause of friar Casimir’s canonization, has listened to witnesses who knew Friar Casimir. He wrote the following:
The event concluded with a focus on identifying sources of light and signs of hope, which, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Friar Casimir’s murder, will inspire and strengthen the ongoing efforts to recognize him as someone whose Gospel witness continues to bear fruit for the people of Olancho.
Let us remain united in prayer so that the preliminary phase of the Cause may continue to bear the fruits of inspiration and apostolic commitment in the Conventual Franciscan mission.
-friar Juan Alonzo Pagoada Acosta OFM Conv., Vice-Postulator of the cause
For more, please visit the Order’s website: ofmconv.net