First Focolarino Martyr - Alberto Fernandez

Eight years ago, on a day like today, his lifeless body was found in a field. Alberto, the first focolarino “martyr”, as Chiara Lubich called him.

Alberto was born in the small Uruguay town of Salto, the first of two sons of farmers. His father died when he was only 11 years old and he was forced by the circumstances to grow up quickly and help his mother in taking care of the family. This formed a strong character in him which made his relationships with others difficult. But he was helped by his generosity, by his love for life and his preference for the poor. Outgoing, passionate, eager to know, he delved into school first and then in the parish and, soon after, he came into contact with the Focolare. With the Focolare, he had his first experience away from home, at Mariapolis Lia, which is a Focolare town immersed in the endless pampas of Argentina. He took a degree in Medicine and left for Africa – after having become a focolarino – to work in the hospital at the Mariapolis in Fontem, Cameroon.

His sense of beauty led him to begin painting the things he loved: African people and landscapes – all in his own style. During a stay in San Paolo, Brazil, to take a course in tropical medicine, and especially AIDS, two young men offered him a lift in their car. His relatives and friends searched for him for 14 long days, with anguish and hope. On a day like today, 2 November 2002, the day when we remember the dead, his lifeless body was found in a sugar cane thicket. That year the Church included his name to the list of martyrs as the only lay-person.

Here is an excerpt from the book: “I belong to God” which narrates Alberto’s life:

Saturday 2 November, All Souls Day.
The search began again early this morning. Finally, one of the murderers confessed and led us to the site of the crime, in a rural area called Gurupá, between the cities of Promissão e Avanhandava. There was Alberto’s lifeless body, hands bound, slaughtered like a lamb.

His body was taken to the Legal Medical Institute of Lins for an autopsy.Two agonizing weeks had gone by since his disappearance. Since he was a foreigner, the DIG of Baurù informed the Uruguay Consolate.

"Just as we were with the police at the most difficult moment when we discovered the body – says Allan, one of Alberto’s friends – "Chiara Lubich telephoned to assure us of her closeness. Her words were so reassuring:Alberto died on his way to a mission. . . . He’s our first focolarino martyr."

As we put down the telephone, something she had written years earlier came to our minds:
". . . a bloody design stands out from our life. . . which nails our soul in a single resolve: To shed that blood in Your chalice and to tell you, and retell you, and repeat to you. . . our yes to the martyrdom of Your will that seems so unequivocal." (1)