This year, devotees will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the death of Blessed Father Eustace. To mark the occasion, the National Secretariat for the Cause of Canonization and the Archdiocesan Sanctuary of Health and Peace are preparing a large program in memory of the Blessed.

This Tuesday, the 31st, the Holy Mass will be celebrated to mark the opening of the 80th anniversary of the death of Father Eustáquio. The Eucharist begins at 7 pm and will include the exposition of the Blessed Father's Sacred Relics, as well as a blessing for Health and Peace, with the laying on of priestly hands.

The ceremony will be presided over by the Vice-Postulator of the Cause of Canonization, Father Vinícius Maciel, sscc, who is also the Rector of the Sanctuary. Leaders from various parish movements and Associations inspired by Father Eustáquio are expected to participate in the Eucharist. Furthermore, all the faithful and devotees of the Blessed are invited to celebrate together.

The opening Mass for the 80th anniversary will be broadcast live on open channel TV Evangelizar to cities in 16 Brazilian states, in addition to the Padre Eustáquio Channel on YouTube.

Relics of Father Eustace

The box containing the relics of Father Eustace, which will be displayed to the community during the celebration, consists of a metacarpal bone (hand), strands of hair, the Belgian decoration received by the Blessed, a pen used by him, as well as a piece of the cord he wore (cincture) and cloths that touched the bones of the Blessed.

Life and history of Blessed Father Eustace

Born Hubbertus on November 3, 1889, in Aarle Rixtel, Netherlands, Father Eustace came from a large and very religious family. Baptized on the same day he was born, the boy entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts shortly before turning 15.

Inspired by the missionary ideal of Saint Damien of Molokai, Eustace professed temporary and perpetual vows in 1915 and four years later was ordained a priest. In 1925 he came to Brazil as a missionary, passing through Água Suja (now Romaria-MG), Poá-SP and several other cities in the interior of Minas Gerais, as well as the capital Rio de Janeiro. In 1942 he arrived in Belo Horizonte, where he stayed for a little over a year and four months.

Bitten by a tick, Father Eustáquio died on August 30, 1943, at the Minas Gerais Sanatorium (now Alberto Cavalcanti Hospital) in Belo Horizonte. His reputation for holiness spread among the people, leading the Church to open the Beatification process thirteen years after his death.
After several stages of the process, Pope Saint John Paul II declared him Venerable in 2003, and in 2006 Pope Benedict XVI included Father Eustace's name in the list of the Blessed of the Church.
Currently, the Holy See is awaiting confirmation of one more miracle before declaring Father Eustáquio a saint.