The Martyr of Congo for wearing his brown scapular.

Isidore was born around the year 1887 in northeast Zaire, which was the Belgian Congo at the time.  Details about his birth and youth up until his baptismal record are unknown.

Over several centuries, the vast Congo region was plagued by colonization from competing countries, revolts, and wars because of a growing demand for African raw materials.  

He learned about Christ, became very devout, and was baptized by the Trappist missionaries at about the age of 18.

He had an immense love for the Blessed Virgin Mary which he expressed through recitation of the Rosary and by being invested in the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

He was mild, honest, and respectful and worked for the Belgian colonizers as an assistant mason.  Often with rosary in hand, he looked for opportunities to share his faith so much so that many thought he was a catechist.

He left his village to share his faith with a larger settlement where he found employment with the agent of a Belgian company that controlled the rubber plantations.

Many of the agents hated the missionaries because they defended the natives’ rights and denounced injustices.

Isidore asked for a period of leave to return home but permission was refused.  Instead, they told him to stop preaching and on how to pray as they claimed it would hurt productivity.  He was also directed to get rid of his scapular which he refused, and they flogged him as punishment. 

He was found wearing his scapular again and when he refused to remove it, the agent flew into a rage, tore the scapular off, and threw him to the ground.  2 servant boys were ordered to hold his hands and feet while a 3rd flogged him.  The whip used was made of elephant hide with nails protruding at the end.  Even after begging for mercy, muttering, “My God, I’m dying”, the agent kicked his neck and head, ordering for him to be scourged harder.  After a count of 100, those assisting lost track.  His back was one open wound with some of his bones exposed.  He was thrown, with legs chained, into a hut, unable to even relieve himself.

An inspector was expected, so Isidore was banished.  He struggled to walk, fell, and hid in the forest.  As the inspector approached, he was horrified as Isidore drug himself in front of him.  He documented, “I saw a man come from the forest with his back torn apart by deep, festering, malodorous wounds, covered with filth, assaulted by flies.”

The agent saw, came, and tried to kill Isidore but the inspector restrained him.  Isidore was taken to the inspector’s settlement while 2 missionaries spent several days with him as he forgave the agent.  “When I am in heaven, I shall pray for him very much.”

His agony lasted 6 months.  He received the last sacraments and died on August 15, 1909, with the rosary in his hand and the scapular around his neck.

His feast day is August 15.

For God’s Glory.