On August 30th, the church celebrates the Feast of Blessed Father Eustace. At the Sanctuary of Health and Peace in Belo Horizonte, devotees are already beginning to prepare with Masses, Novenas, the Rosary, and Vocational Adoration.

This year, in particular, the faithful celebrate the Centenary of the priestly ordination of the religious figure. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Belo Horizonte, D. Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo, granted a Partial Indulgence to all devotees who, on the occasion of the Jubilee Celebrations, participate in the Eucharistic Celebration, offering prayers for the Holy Father, the Pope, during the period from August 10, 2019 to August 10, 2020.

In addition to this great gift, the Sanctuary of Health and Peace, where the Memorial that holds the mortal remains of the Blessed is located, was also graced with the arrival of a replica of the image of Our Lady of the Abbey of Água Suja, the first place where Father Eustáquio was parish priest in Brazil, now the city of Romaria, in the Triângulo Mineiro region.

The image will be given a permanent place inside the Padre Eustáquio Memorial on the first day of the Novena, which begins this Wednesday, August 21st. On this occasion, the flagpole that marks the beginning of the 76th Feast of the Blessed will also be raised.

On August 30th (Friday), a big celebration is being prepared. It is estimated that around 25,000 people will visit the Sanctuary in the capital of Minas Gerais.

The Life Story of Blessed Father Eustace

Eustáquio van Lieshout was born in the Netherlands in 1890 and at the age of 15 joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, inspired by the example of holiness of the missionary Saint Damien of Molokai. On August 10, 1919, he received priestly ordination and continued serving the People of God in his country. Six years later he came to Brazil and founded, together with Father Gil van den Boogaart and Father Matias van Rooy, the first community of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in the country.

He built the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Abbey of Água Suja, in Romaria-MG, and was later transferred to Poá-SP, where the first reports of miracles were found. The fame of holiness of the 'Vicar of Poá' spread throughout the country, and the uncontrollable harassment from the crowds led his superiors to remove him from the parish in 1941. He lived in seclusion in various cities in São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.

In 1942, he was appointed parish priest in Belo Horizonte. He stayed in the capital of Minas Gerais for only 1 year and 4 months, enough to leave deep roots in the spirituality of the people of Belo Horizonte. However, a sudden high fever interrupted this intense apostolate, and on August 30, 1943, he died, a victim of typhus or spotted fever, also called tick fever.

His funeral was a true triumphal march. The burial was the beginning of an apotheosis. His tomb, in the Bonfim Cemetery, continued to be visited by the faithful. The construction of the Church of the Sacred Hearts became a reality, and the people affectionately began to call it "Father Eustáquio's Church".

Once construction was completed, Father Eustáquio's body was exhumed and moved to a tomb inside the church in 1949, where it remained until 2007, when it was transferred to the Memorial, built adjacent to the temple.

On June 15, 2006, the solemn Beatification took place at Mineirão Stadium: the public recognition of a heroic life of virtue and service. The Mineirão stadium, in Belo Horizonte – MG, hosted, during the Corpus Christi celebration, a multitude of faithful from parishes in Belo Horizonte and other cities. There were more than 80,000 people at the 12th "Torcida de Deus" (God's Fan Club).