Lucien Botovasoa
Lucien Botovasoa, TOFS (1908 – 14 April 1947) was a Malagasy Catholic schoolteacher and a member of the Secular Franciscan Order.
Botovasoa served as a teacher for his entire life and was dedicated to both the religious and secular education of children. His thirst for the religious life led him to discover the Secular Franciscan Order in 1940 and he became part of it; he rallied others to know Francis of Assisi and enter the order themselves. Botovasoa likewise adopted the Franciscan charism for himself through his fasting and clothing habits.
Botovasoa was murdered in 1947, during a period of tumult in Madagascar. His cause for canonization opened on 11 October 2011 under Pope Benedict XVI in which he became titled as a Servant of God. Pope Francis confirmed in mid-2017 that Botovasoa was killed in hatred of his faith and decreed that he was to be beatified; the ceremony was celebrated in Vohipeno on 15 April 2018.
In the Martyrology
- April 14 Blessed Lucien Botovasoa, layperson and martyr