Tomb of beatified Brazilian priest damaged in apparent robbery attempt

By ACI Digital

Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, May 6, 2022 / 17:00 pm

The tomb of Blessed Donizetti Tavares de Lima was damaged during an apparent robbery attempt last weekend in Brazil.

Tavares de Lima was a priest known for working miracles and for his tireless work in defense of the poor. His body is kept in the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Tambaú, about 60 miles southeast of Ribeirao Preto.

On May 2, the mayor of Tambaú, Leonardo Spiga Real, reported on Facebook that "one of the glass sides that encloses the mausoleum of Blessed Donizetti was broken during an attempted robbery."

Photographs posted by the mayor show that one of the glass panels of the mausoleum which protects the tomb of Blessed Donizetti was smashed.

While the blessed’s body was originally buried in the Tambaú Municipal Cemetery, it was translated to the Aparecida shrine in 2009.

Spiga said that law enforcement is investigating the act of vandalism, to find those responsible.

“Images from the security cameras are being retrieved and will be reviewed so the Civil Police can continue the investigation and find the criminal or criminals," he said.

In addition, the mayor said that "the public authorities are already studying new measures to strengthen security."

Finally, Spiga called on civilians to report to the police any evidence that might help in the investigation of the case.

"We deplore what happened and ask that you, a good citizen, report suspicious behavior to law enforcement authorities," he said.

Father Donizetti Tavares de Lima was born in 1882 in Cássia in Minas Gerais state. He was ordained a priest in 1908. He came to Tambaú in 1926 and lived there until he died at the age of 79. 

Dozinetti was beatified in 2019, after the Vatican recognized the miracle of the healing of Bruno Henrique Arruda de Oliveira through the priest’s intercession.

Bruno was born in 2006 with a deformity known as "bilateral congenital clubfoot," a difficult-to-treat anomaly that affects the muscles and bones of the feet.