Pedro Shaw

Pedro Shaw (right) together with Pope John Paul II.

Pedro Shaw , birth name Piet Jacobus Shaw , popular nickname in Guaraní Pa'i Puku - "long father" (born September 6, 1925 in Wilrijk , Belgium; † June 21, 1984 near Asunción ), was a Flemish Paraguay missionary from the community of the oblates of the Immaculate Virgin Mary .

Life

Piet Shaw spent his school days at Sint Lievens College in Antwerp . On September 7, 1945 he was dressed in the novitiate of the Oblates of the Immaculate Virgin Mary OMI in Korbeek-Lo . From 1946 to 1948 he completed his studies in philosophy and from 1948 to 1951 his studies in theology. On September 30, 1951, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Karel-Justinus Calewaert of Ghent. On March 8, 1952, he was appointed to the Vicariate Apostolic Pilcomayo . His arrival in Paraguay was on December 16, 1952. From 1953 he worked as a traveling missionary in the Paraguayan Gran Chaco , from 1953 to 1965 as a vicar in Benjamín Aceval and as a traveling missionary in the lower Chaco, from 1965 to 1973 as a pastor in María Medianera and a traveling missionary in the central Chaco , and from 1973 to 1981 as pastor in Puerto Elsa (today Nanawa) on the Río Paraguay , opposite the capital Asunción. On February 21, 1981 Pai Puku received his appointment and on April 22, 1981 his ordination as bishop in the Vicariate Apostolic Pilcomayo in northern Chaco. On June 21, 1984 he was killed in an accident at 28 km of the Ruta Trans-Chaco near Asunción. His tomb is in the old San Miguel Cathedral at the Episcopal See in Mariscal Estigarribia .

Honors

Even during his lifetime, the "long father" Pai Puku (according to the passport: 1.99 m) was very popular among the population because of his strict but humorous manner and his big heart for the poor. His tireless efforts to reach even the most remote cattle ranches and Indian villages by horse and the traditional horse-drawn cart cachapé was proverbial , in order to bring the good news to the people. Last but not least, his nickname from the indigenous Guaraní language, which is well known all over the country, is a proof of affection. Pai Puku is still highly revered in the Chaco and far beyond in the country. On May 15, 1998, President Juan Carlos Wasmosy posthumously awarded him the "Orden Nacional al Merito en el Grado de Gran Oficial" in recognition of his special merits. Two important church institutions in the Chaco, a radio station and a boarding school, which he founded in María Medianera in the early 1960s, bear his name, along with other institutions. There are regular memorial services and pilgrimages to the grave and the accident site. In 2009, on the 25th anniversary of his death, a song was produced in the Guarani language in his honor (text and music: Rito Pedersen, vocals: Diana Barboza and Alfredo Mora). On February 25, 2018, the "Spiritual Center Pai Puku" at the accident site at km 28 of the Ruta Tranc-Chaco was able to do so with great sympathy from the population and from church and political authorities such as Senate President Fernando Lugo, Governor Antonio Saldivar and the 3 bishops Lucio Alfert OMI, Candido Cardenas and Mario Melanio Medina, will be inaugurated.

Beatification process

In April 2012, Vice- Postulator Fr. Aníbal Cazuriaga OMI handed over the petition for the beatification of Pai Puku to the responsible Bishop Cándido Cárdenas of Benjamín Aceval . The beatification process was officially initiated. On March 19, 2018, the German theologian Dr. Michael Krischer, who had already written a research paper on Pai Puku in 2009/2010, on the new Vice-Postulator for the beatification process. On January 28, 2019 he submitted a new petition to the new Bishop of Benjamin Aceval, Mons. Amancio Benitez Candia, because the procedure had never been officially opened due to the special circumstances on site with few staff and little communication.

literature

• Cristino Bohnert: Christian mission in the Paraguayan Chaco. The Work of the Oblate Missionaries in the 20th Century . Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 2009, ISBN 978-3-8050-0561-6 .
• Michael Krischer: Adiós Pa'i Puku, La vida de Pedro Shaw OMI - Gran Misionero del Chaco, Material catequético , Editora Litocolor SRL, Asunción 2009.
• Michael Krischer: The life and work of Piet Shaw OMI, called Pa'i Puku . Research work with funds from ICALA (Scholarship Association Latin America - Germany eV), Asunción 2010.
• Michael Krischer: Pa'i Puku. Life story of a great Chaco missionary , 9 parts. In: The Vineyard . Mission and family magazine of the Oblates, Mainz 1-10 / 2010.
• Michael Krischer: Pa'i Puku: Un Misionero Santo en el Chaco Paraguayo . Editora Litocolor SRL, Asuncion 2011. ISBN 978-99953-2-394-3 .
• Michael Krischer: A saint for the Paraguayan Chaco, the beatification process for Pa'i Puku requested and the building of a chapel planned . In: The Vineyard . Mission and family magazine of the Oblates, Mainz 7-8 / 2012.
• Miguel Fritz OMI: Huellas de Oblatos en el Paraguay , Editora Litocolor SRL, Asunción 2009.
• Miguel Fritz OMI: A big event for the church in Chaco, inauguration of the "Centro Espiritual Pai Puku". In: The Vineyard. Mission and family magazine of the Oblates, Mainz 5/2018.

Web links

• Entry on catholic-hierarchy.org

predecessor	Office	successor
Sinforiano Lucas Rojo OMI	Vicar Apostolic of Pilcomayo 1981–1984	Lucio Alfert OMI