Relics of Sister Dorothy Stang to be displayed in Rome

Stang, who attended Julienne High School in Dayton before becoming a nun, worked for nearly 40 years in Brazil. She helped impoverished farmers in the Amazon rainforest with ecological issues and defended them in tense, sometimes violent land disputes with wealthy ranchers.

Over a span of several years after Stang’s death in 2005, two ranchers were convicted of ordering Stang’s murder and two gunmen were convicted of carrying it out. There have been numerous appeals and retrials in the years since.

Stang will be honored by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome on Jan. 10, 2025, at the Basilica di San Bartolomeo all’Isola a month before the 20th anniversary of her martyrdom, her congregation said.

The 20th anniversary of her murder will be Feb. 12. She was 73 when she died.

The Community of Sant’Egidio will preserve Stang’s memory by including her story in an exhibit and by safeguarding the relic, according to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

She will be the first woman from the United States to be included in the sanctuary, the congregation also said.

At 3 p.m. Jan. 5, 2025, the reliquary will be commissioned during a private prayer service at Mount Notre Dame Chapel in Cincinnati.

Those traveling to Rome for the ceremony at the Basilica di San Bartolomeo all’Isola, including Ohio province leaders, students and family members, will receive a blessing for the trip.

A livestream link to the prayer service can be found at: https://youtube.com/live/c5wdh6gRdXs?feature=share.