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| Collège Saint-Grégoire | Club Sportif de Jamhour | |
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| Collège Saint-Grégoire | Club Sportif de Jamhour | |
After studying business
then plastic arts, Father Nicolas Kluiters painted until he felt the call of
religion. He joined the Society of Jesus in his country,
Soon after his return to
After gaining the
villagers’ trust, he cooperated with them to renovate the church and build a
house for the priest, a school, a monastery where a group of nuns from the
Sacred Hearts settled at the end of 1984, as well as a dispensary soon after.
He would receive from his native country,
On the night of March 13, 1985, after
celebrating mass with the nuns of the hospital in Hermel, he returned to Barqa
where the villagers were waiting for him the following morning. However, he
never reached the village and there was no news about him. His fellow priests
in Taanayel, the nuns, and the security forces looked for him in the area. One
of the shepherds noticed a suspicious horde of crows over a deep ditch and
notified the people in charge. After many efforts, they were able to reach the
bottom and removed the body that had been missing for 17 days. Nicolas was
dreadfully killed; he was shot twice, hanged and impaled, which indicated his
murderers’ strong hatred. Afterward, it appeared that he courageously resisted
his kidnappers because he was strong and was trained in self-defense with the
paratroops in the military service in
He was buried in the Taanayel monastery on Wednesday April 3, during the Holy Week, in a very emotional and devotional atmosphere. The bells did not ring for sadness, but for joy because all those who knew Nicolas understood that they were biding farewell to a martyr who gave his life for his faith; until this day, they are still convinced of that.
He had increased his prayers during his last days and had trustingly put his life in the hands of God, prepared to accept all difficulties, even martyrdom. Two weeks prior to his kidnapping, he wrote, “He (Christ) brought me back to Barqa… as if He were telling me: the fruit will soon ripen… Don’t worry about extraordinary and difficult events that could happen, such as a kidnapping or anything similar. He who follows Me has a special blessing so that he can suffer for me and with me. I shall be with him”.