Father Gilbert Dasna, age 32, was killed on May 9, 2014. He was the assistant pastor of St. Paul's Cathedral in Alberta. He lived in the rectory with the main Pastor Father Gerard Gauthier . He had been in Canada for 3 years.
Fr. Gauthier was out of town when a gunman knocked at the door and fired bullets into Dasna’s chest.
“The whole parish is in mourning,” Gauthier said. According to Parishioners Dasna was well liked, humble, and forgiving.
The entire town, located 200 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, was shaken by Friday’s violence, which left Dasna and another man, identified as local business owner John Carlos Quadros, dead. Quadros, was a health store owner who advocated healthy living through “herbs and natural products given to us by GOD.” He died in a shootout with RCMP on the town’s main street.
RCMP say the string of violent events occurred around 6 p.m. on Friday. Fr. Dasna was pronounced dead in hospital.
FOR BREAKING NEWS PRAYERS, INSPIRATIONAL STORIES AND FREE MOVIES Like Now http://facebook.com/catholicnewsworld
FOR BREAKING NEWS PRAYERS, INSPIRATIONAL STORIES AND FREE MOVIES Like Now http://facebook.com/catholicnewsworld
A female officer was airlifted to hospital in Edmonton after receiving leg injuries from being rammed in her vehicle. Her condition was described on Saturday as serious but not life-threatening. Two male officers received less serious injuries, one from a bullet wound to his hand and the other from being hit in the face with broken glass. The male officers were treated and released from hospital.
Dasna was born in Cameroon and came to Canada from Nigeria, where he trained in Sons of Mother Mary and Mercy, a Catholic missionary order founded in Nigeria in 1970. Dasna's sister died in an accident earlier this year. Sister Jeannetta Dasna of Daughters of the Holy
Spirit, died in an accident in Cameroon at age 43. Dasna had just recently returned to Canada after his sister’s death. (Edited from the Edmonton Journal)
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM BISHOPS OF CANADA
The news of the violent death of Father Gilbert Dasna, SMMM, an African missionary priest who has been serving in your diocese for the past few years, came as a deep shock to me and, I am sure, to all Catholics and people of good will in Canada. The further violence that has led to the death of another man and the wounding of members of the RCMP only deepens our sadness and grief. I can only imagine the impact this is having on the community of St. Paul's and the members of your diocese, your priests and yourself. Please be assured of the solidarity and prayers of all the Bishops of Canada and of the faithful of their dioceses.
Today's gospel reading reminds us of the words of Jesus in John's Gospel: "I have come that they may have life, and life to the fullest." May these words bring a measure of consolation, healing and hope to all those who have been personally affected by this tragedy. In this Easter season, as we celebrate more intensely Christ's victory over death, let us turn to God for wisdom, strength and renewed purpose in our journey towards eternal life.
Yours in Christ,
+ Paul-Andre Durocher
Archbishop of Gatineau
President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
Archbishop of Gatineau
President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
Comments