Congolese kill Italian Franciscan after his vehicle kills 3-year-old

Published: 2005-09-14

ROME (CNS) -- An Italian Franciscan friar died Sept. 12 when he was attacked by angry residents after he accidentally ran over and killed a 3-year-old child in the Republic of Congo. Father Angelo Redaelli, 40, was at the wheel of a sport utility vehicle carrying eight other passengers, including two Franciscan priests and three Claretian nuns, when the accident occurred. They were heading from the northern town of Makua to the capital, Brazzaville, when, 18 miles from the town of Owando, a young girl appeared on the road. The missionary was not able to stop the vehicle in time, and it struck the girl, killing her instantly, reported MISNA, a Rome-based missionary news agency. When he got out of the vehicle to offer help, local residents, including the girl's family, attacked the priest with machetes, MISNA said Sept. 12. Most of the other passengers in the vehicle with Father Redaelli were local Congolese. They fled the scene after the car struck the girl.

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