Father Henrique Leijen, sscc, died on the morning of Thursday, June 24, at the age of 85. He had been hospitalized since the 16th at the Madre Teresa hospital in Belo Horizonte due to health problems and died of heart and kidney failure.

In one of his last words, last night in the ICU, Father Henrique told the Diaconate that he was praying, asking for Father Eustáquio's intercession for his recovery: “"There's no need to bother Father Eustáquio, let the story unfold, I'm ready!"”

Hendricus Johannes Maria Leijen was born on December 21, 1935, in Zaandam, Netherlands, and at the age of 14 he entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. He was ordained a priest on February 22, 1964, and arrived in Brazil eight months later, on October 13 of that year.

In Brazil, Father Henrique studied Portuguese in Araguari, in the Triângulo Mineiro region, and lived in several cities such as Ferraz de Vasconcelos and Campinas in São Paulo, Formosa in Goiás, and Rio de Janeiro. He worked in various parishes and retreat centers as a teacher, formator, parish priest, and vicar, in addition to serving as assistant priest at the Cathedral of Formosa-GO between 1983 and 1989.

Since 2015, Father Henrique had been living at the Provincial House in Belo Horizonte and had been doing welcoming and assistance work at the Health and Peace Sanctuary.

Father Henrique's body will lie in state at the Sanctuary in Belo Horizonte, starting at 8:00 AM and open to the community, but with a very restricted duration due to the pandemic. At 9:15 AM, a funeral mass will be celebrated, also with a limited number of participants. Everything will be broadcast on the Padre Eustáquio Channel on YouTube. Follow along by clicking here.. The priest's burial will take place immediately after Holy Mass at the Parque da Colina Cemetery in Belo Horizonte.

May the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary receive him into the Father's presence!