U.S. deacon working in Belize killed in apparent robbery

Published: 2005-03-28

ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- A deacon serving with St. Louis priests at a parish in Belize was killed during an apparent robbery March 11. Deacon Donald F. Kostecki, a native of St. Louis and a retired state hydrologist from Topeka, Kan., was inside his pickup truck when shot at close range. He had been on his way to early morning Mass at Sacred Heart Church in San Ignacio in the western district of Cayo in the Central American country. "He was a model Catholic Christian who brought solace and comfort to a great many through his ministry," said Father Kevin Hederman, a St. Louis priest who staffs the parish with Father Anthony Siebert as part of the St. Louis Archdiocese's Latin American apostolate.

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