Thursday, February 24, 2011

Polish Priest Working in Tunisia Murdered

Father Marek Rybinski, a young Polish missionary working in Manouba, was found dead early this morning, apparently the victim of a murder.

The Salesian Information Agency is reported today that police found Father Rybinski dead in a store room at the Salesian school with his throat cut.

He is the second religious to be found dead in this recent period of social unrest.

The priest was last seen Thursday morning at 10 a.m., and the Salesian community notified the police early today after he had missed morning Mass.

Father Rybinski, 33, is a native of the Warsaw Province in Poland, and was ordained in 2005. 

He arrived in Manouba in 2007, where he helped, through his contacts in the Polish Missions Office, to “help to finance various projects for the good of the school,” the Salesian news agency reported.

The young priest was also the chaplain to the Polish community in Tunisia, and he had spent a lot of time preparing the youngsters for Confirmation.

Archbishop Maroun Elias Nimeh Lahham of Tunisia presided at a Mass  for Fr Rybinski in the cathedral of Manouba.