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R.I.P. Oblates of Mary Immaculate Fr. Lawrence Rosebaugh
by Thomas C. Fox on May. 19, 2009
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Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF versionThis alert from Gene Palumbo, occasional NCR contributor in El Salvador.
Fr. Lawrence Rosebaugh, OMI, 74, formerly of the U.S. Province, was shot to death on May 18, 2009, in Playa Grande, Guatemala. He and 4 other Oblates were on their way to a meeting when assaulted in a “carjacking” by two men. Larry was shot twice and died; another Oblate, Fr. Jean-Claude, was wounded but is doing well. The gunmen escaped –and did not take the van.
Mass of Christian Burial: in Guatemala City, tomorrow, May 20.
Please remember him in your prayers.
Rev. Lawrence Rosebaugh, OMI, was born in Appleton, Wisconsin on May 16, 1935, the son of Donald and Mildred (O’Gorman) Rosebaugh. He attended St. Henry’s preparatory seminary in Belleville, Illinois, and did his college and theological studies at the Oblate seminary in Pine Hills, MSi. He took his first vows as an Oblate on Aug. 15, 1957, and was ordained to the priesthood on March 30, 1963 in Pine Hills.
His first assignment was as an associate pastor at St. Casimir’s in St. Paul, MN. H then spent four years teaching high school in Duluth, MN and Chicago, IL. In 1975, he was assigned to the missions in Brazil, where he spent 6 years. Returning to the US in 1981, he was a member of the Catholic Worker House community in New York City for 4 years, spent some time in El Salvador as a volunteer with Christian Volunteer Ministries, and, in 1993, was assigned to the Oblate mission in Guatemala, where he was serving when he was killed During his many years of ministry, Fr. Lorenzo was an advocate for peace and justice wherever he served. His autobiography, To Wisdom through Failure, was published in 2006.
Fr. Larry was a gentle
Fr. Larry was a gentle person, one with few possessions or needs. I remember his joy at being moved to solitary confinement at the Potter County Jail in Amarillo, TX one week after our arrest for praying at the assembly plant for all U.S. nuclear weapons (Pantex) in 1981. When we saw each other at the arraignment, he beamed and said, "They gave me my own little prayer cell".
Prior to the six of us being booked into that jail, we were held together in a cell while the FBI attempted to interrogate us. It was at that point that Larry told us about his imprisonment and torture in Brazil while serving the poor under the inspiration of Dom Helder Camera. After describing what he went through there, I knew I could survive this, my first long-term stretch in the slammer.
I joined Fr. Larry once again a couple of years later when he, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, and Linda Ventimiglia came to Koinonia Partners and told us about their intended campaign at Ft. Benning where Salvadoran troops were being trained. (This was just prior to the School of the Americas being moved there.)They invited some of us who were vigiling by the base gate every Thursday to join them in what turned out to be their final action in a very busy week. Several of us joined the 3 of them and we planted our crosses on the Base Commander's front lawn before we were arrested and hauled off. My last time seeing Larry was at their trial in 1983.
I'm grateful for his life and witness. Rest in Peace, my friend and brother.
I found a story discussing a
I found a story discussing a post on the blog Guate Living, which expressed suspicion that the attack was more than an every day robbery because “[V]iolent crime against foreigners is a relatively rare thing here,” and the author adds that it’s “unusual that the robbers felt it necessary to open fire on the vehicle in order to rob them.”
Has there been any further reporting on this aspect?
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2009/May/Shooting-of-Americ...
I never had the honor of
I never had the honor of meeting Father Larry, but his and my lives nearly intersected several times. I certainly have known his name ever since I got involved with the Red River Peace Network and the Peace Farm, later challengers of nuclear weapons at the Pantex plant, and we always spoke with great respect for the excellent action he and Steve and the others did at Pantex. And I have worked with Father (still, as far as we know!)Roy Bourgeois and the School of the Americas Watch for many years now. I am so saddened by this tragedy, and I agree with the anonymous comment above that this is likely not just a robbery. So many religious have been abused and killed for supporting the poor in Latin America.
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