Louis Blondel

Louis Blondel (1939 - 2009)

Brief overview:

Father Louis Blondel (70), was shot in his presbytery on Sunday night. In a statement, the Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa, Fr Gerard Chabanon said three young men entered through a window into the missionaries' home. After waking up a Canadian religious brother and another person who was sleeping in the house and stealing their mobile phones, they demanded that the main door of the house be opened. Then another young man entered, and asked whether there were other people in the house. They headed towards the room of Fr Louis, who opened the door and was immediately shot dead.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
  • The funeral service, in the presence of members of his family from France, four bishops, more than a hundred priests and even more religious and lay people, was an eloquent testimony given to such a talented missionary. Although he is no longer with us, his memory lives on through those who owe their success in life to Louis' selfless sacrifice and ingenuity. A young doctor from Soweto, whose studies Louis had financed, testifies: “We will never see people like him again”. How true!
• The Street/Suburb
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • Five teenagers have been arrested today in connection with the murder of a parish priest, in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, police said.
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • In July, Malope was arrested and admitted he murdered Father Louis Blondel, in 2009 in a brutal attack which also targetted fellow-priest Guido Bourgeois. He had established a trade school in Orange Farm to help poor black unemployed youths. Malope said he and "a group of four friends decided to rob Father Blondel because they had an order to steal a computer and wanted money for drugs and alcohol." However the surviving priest, Father Sean O’Leary, testified during the sentencing-hearing that 'the church wanted to see justice done first, before it could consider forgiving Malope." As a direct result of his gruesome murder, the mission's plans for a similar school in Diepsloot were cancelled.
  • Malope also told the prison-official that he 'regretted his actions and was ashamed and remorseful about what he had done. " Matseke said house arrest already was a "severe" sentence that "would allow the unemployed Malope to maintain his relationships with his family and take full responsibility for his actions in future. "If the court was lenient in sentencing Malope, it would send the message that it was okay to kill a priest because they were easy targets." Malope said that he had shot dead father Blondell 'because he became frightened on seeing a man standing in a dark room while he and his friends were ransacking the house." "Malope was still at school and lived with his parents at the time of the murder. Malope’s father testified in July that his son disappeared a few days before killing the priest. O’Leary however said while he felt sorry for Malope’s parents, "it was clear they could not control their son.
  • However when Malope testified on July 27, 2011, Malope himself spoke no words of remorse when he said: "I entered the house and found one [man] that was sleeping. I pointed a firearm at him." Malope said that man gave him the key to a room where computers were kept. " However, according to a post mortem report the priest had lived a considerably long time until he died: he been left to bleed to death after being shot in the neck. "I pointed the firearm at him. He moved towards me and a shot went off. Then we took the computer and left." In his statement, Malope claimed that father Blondel had died on the scene.
  • Malope was ordered to reappear for sentencing on September 16 2011.
  • The trial of Malope's four accomplices - Kgangelo Manzini (21), Thembalethu Sindane (18), Freddy Mahlangu (21), and a 17-year-old youth - was postponed to February 9 2012.

Additional Biographical Information:

Fr Louis Blondel was a native of northern France. He taught philosophy in Tanzania for 15 years. In 1987, he moved to South Africa. In June 2009, he finished his second term as Superior of the Province of Southern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa) of the White Fathers. He also taught philosophy at St. Peter's Seminary, Hammanskraal. After founding 'Cordis', an Emmaus Centre, and having worked in the development of Orange Farm, a huge township in Johannesburg, in 2008 Fr. Blondel had moved to Diepsloot, another township of about 300,000 people that is located between Johannesburg and Pretoria. In Diepsloot, Fr. Blondel had opened a new parish.

Louis' story begins some 70 years earlier, on June 14, 1939, in a small town called Béthune, in Pas-de-Calais, France. After primary school in his hometown, he entered the minor seminary of the White Fathers in Bonnelles, where he completed his secondary studies. At the time, the scout movement had a strong influence on him and, several years later, he would found new scout movements in South Africa. Louis studied philosophy at Kerlois, a subject that would ultimately become the cornerstone of his life. After four years of theology at Totteridge, in England, he graduated in 1965. He took his Missionary Oath at Totteridge on June 29, 1965 and, on June 29, 1966,
Louis' incredible intellect does not escape his superiors. Immediately after his ordination, he was sent to study, first in Strasbourg, then in Ben Cheneb in Algeria. During these formative years, he developed a passionate love of philosophy that would guide the course of his life for the next twenty years.
It was in June 1970 that he set foot on African soil for the first time, and exercised his ministry in the parishes of Bunena, Kagando and, later, Ichwandimi in Tanzania. These first experiences in the parish imprinted on him a deep love for pastoral ministry, but this would only be short-lived. This love will be rekindled several years later in South Africa. From 1973 to 1987, Louis served in the seminaries of Ntungamo and Kibosho, and eventually established our own seminary in Kahangala. Not only is he a philosopher, but he's also a builder, an unusual mix of skills that he would retain until his death. Although very intellectual, it is at the same time extremely practical.
These first years in Tanzania had a profound impact on him. He shows great admiration for the friendly, forgiving Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania, a recently independent country. When Nyerere embarked on an ambitious socio-economic recovery program called 'Ujamaa', no one monitored the initiative more closely than Louis. Although one of those who strongly desires the success of this ambitious program, the daily experience of increasing poverty and a degrading quality of life turns Louis against this program. He would later confess how he loved and respected Nyerere, but had to condemn his policies.
The 1986 Chapter proved to be a great turning point in his life. At their pre-chapter assembly, the then Provincial for Malawi and South Africa accepted a request from the Archbishop of Johannesburg to send missionaries to Soweto, as a sign of solidarity with the people, to demonstrate that despite apartheid, blacks and whites can live together. When the Chapter approved the proposal, Louis was the first to volunteer, and arrived in Soweto the following year.
This is a new challenge for our philosopher and builder, and he accepts it like a duck to water. Louis develops pastoral care and organizes leadership sessions touching on all aspects of Church life. However, Soweto's parishes are very small by their very nature, and activities tend to be held only on weekends, which makes Louis' feet itchy. He immediately left in search of a more lucrative job. With apartheid laws disappearing and a more relaxed political atmosphere, people are slowly beginning to flock to the bustling city of Johannesburg in search of work.
New slums appear almost overnight. From Soweto, the team of confreres, with the permanent deacons of their parishes, begins to visit these slums and exercise ministry there. The Archbishop of Johannesburg instructs Louis to conduct a survey in all the slums of the archdiocese in order to propose a harmonized development of the Church's presence among the poorest. Already, Orange Farm is the largest of these slums. At the request of the Archbishop, Louis leads a team of confreres into this sprawling new slum to open a new parish.
He would spend the next fifteen years at Orange Farm, building a parish from almost nothing. Its approach is twofold: building infrastructure and, at the same time, creating vibrant communities, like in Soweto, by investing in the training of lay leaders. His work prospers.
He is particularly interested in the poorest and, in a way, wants to make their lives easier. To do this, he is first building a 'trades school' to offer young people the opportunity to learn useful skills, such as carpentry, cabinetmaking, sewing, welding and computers. At the end of their studies, students will have acquired the necessary tools to be able to work. Over time, thousands of young people will benefit from this important initiative. Today the school continues as a fitting memorial to this great man.
Louis was always impressed by Abbé Pierre and the work of the Emmaüs communities in France where, in his youth, he volunteered. He finds in this model a way of restoring dignity to the most marginalized in South African society.

At the end of the '90s, he bought a small farm and a few trucks which were used to collect old furniture in the rich neighborhoods north of Johannesburg. The furniture will be refurbished on the farm and resold. The Center will be called CORDIS (Christian Outreach Done in Solidarity). Today, in addition to the furniture business, there is a vibrant garden and a brick-making project, providing a small income for the many formerly unemployed people. The most surprising thing is that Louis can take care of all these projects while fulfilling his task as Provincial of the SAP, a service he provided from 2003 to 2009.
His appetite for new adventures doesn't stop there. As Orange Farm grew into a bustling parish, with eight well-established branches, Louis began to explore new horizons. The proliferation of a squatter camp called Diepsloot, northwest of Johannesburg, caught his attention. Without delay, he began negotiations with the local bishop with a view to sending a team of Missionaries from Africa, of which he himself would be a member. It is virgin territory and 'a fault zone'. He moved there in August 2008, and will be joined by Guido Bourgeois in January 2009. Louis had many plans aimed at improving people's living conditions,
Our colleague Louis loved everything French, and was very proud of his nationality. In turn, his country honored him by granting him the Legion of Honor medal. He maintained close ties with the French community in Johannesburg and its surrounding areas, offering his services to the French chaplaincy and later becoming a sort of 'itch' because he interfered with the comfort of residents of wealthy neighborhoods. People responded generously to meet the challenge, and helped him greatly in many of his projects. 'Friends of Orange Farm' is an established support group; some came from Singapore, Beijing and Paris to attend his funeral.

Translated from: https://www.peresblancs.org/noticesmai10.htm

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.ph/or5GI
• https://archive.ph/dIKvq
• https://archive.ph/I9iaA
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Aug 31 2023, 5:56:16 UTC