A Spanish Jesuit missionary priest working among the indigenous people in Peru’s Amazonia regions has been killed. The body of Father Carlos Riudavets Montes was found with his hands tied and several stab wounds lying in the kitchen of the Valentín Salegui school he ran in Yamakai-entsa district in the Amazonian jungle province of Bagua.
The priest’s body was discovered by the school’s cook, Gumercinda Diure, the director of education of the Amazonia region told RPP radio. Diure said it did not appear to be burglary because nothing was stolen. As reported by Vatican news, The Jesuit province of Peru has confirmed the death of Fr. Riudavets. “We express dismay and sorrow at the death of Father Carlos Riudavets”, the Jesuit province of Peru said in a statement.
Fr. Riudavets, 73, whose school provides education to the children of the Yamakai-Entsa indigenous group, served in the north central part of the Peruvian Amazon for 38 years. The Peruvian bishops conference has urged the authorities to clarify facts and arrest those responsible.
