Luigi Locati
Luigi Locati (born July 23, 1928 in Vinzaglio , Province of Novara , Italy ; † July 14, 2005 in Isiolo , Kenya ) was Vicar Apostolic of Isiolo until his death .
Life
Locati came from the Archdiocese of Vercelli in Piedmont . He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1952, came to Kenya as a missionary in 1963 , became a pastor in Isiolo and founded the first Catholic parish in Meru . At the central government he achieved the recognition of the long neglected ethnic group of the Turkana . On December 15, 1995, he was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Isiolo. In this capacity, after his ordination as titular bishop of Zica on February 4, 1996 by Jozef Cardinal Tomko, he tried to find training opportunities for young people and good contact with the majority of the Muslim population . There are strong ethnic and social tensions in the region, especially between farmers and ranchers. A few days before the bishop's death, there were armed clashes with dozens of dead in Marsabit near Isiolo. Denomination spokesmen condemned the government for its inaction.
On the evening of July 14, 2005, he was shot dead on the street on the way to his home. He had previously submitted his resignation for reasons of age and was expecting a successor to be appointed. He also wanted to stay in his adopted home Kenya afterwards. The Requiem on July 20 was held by the Apostolic Nuncio , Archbishop Alain Lebeaupin, in the presence of President Mwai Kibaki and thousands of believers. Locati was buried in the crypt of St. Eusebius Cathedral.
Background to the murder
The day before his assassination, Bishop Locati had attended a conference of bishops in the capital Nairobi on reforming seminary education. He was also involved in a large-scale Roman investigation into corruption and sexual scandals by bishops and priests in the Kenyan dioceses of Mombasa , Kisumu , Nairobi , Kakamega and elsewhere. The police assume that Luigi Locati was murdered to prevent the exposure of the serious grievances. The police arrested, among other things, the priest Wako Malley, who is said to have had dinner with the bishop on the evening of the murder and to have ordered his murder. He was initially forced by Locati to resign from his pastor and was threatened with suspension for embezzlement of funds and cohabitation .
The trial, which began in December 2005, was interrupted after the first session after the defendants testified that they had been tortured during interrogation and that one person alleged that he had become deaf as a result.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Locati, Luigi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian bishop and missionary |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 23, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vinzaglio , Novara Province, Italy |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 14, 2005 |
| Place of death | Isiolo , Kenya |