Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, seated, embraced a life of simplicity in Brazil where she worked fearlessly to improve lives and defend the forest.
She has been written about many times over. Her life story has been made into an opera and inspired works of art. She is the subject of documentaries and research papers. There is even a species of Xingu screech owl in the Amazon Forest named for her: Megascops stangiae.
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Back row: Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Joan Krimm, Marie Heiz and Dorothy Stang.
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On February 12, 2005, Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, was a 73-year-old woman walking
alone on a deserted country road near Anapu in Brazil. This area in the state of Pará had been her ministry for almost 40 years, and her work to protect the land and the people from destruction had earned her some powerful enemies.
Two hired gunmen approached her on the muddy path. They had weapons; Dorothy
had her Bible. She opened it to the Gospel of St. Matthew and began reading the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted...”
The only witness said those were her some of her last words as she was shot six times at point blank range. Although those who contracted her assassination sought to silence her, the good God had other plans for Sister Dorothy's legacy.
IN A WORD, DETERMINED
A new exhibit planned in the Ohio Province museum on Columbia Avenue in Cincinnati will tell the story of Dorothy, the woman, alongside a nearly 20-year-old exhibit about Dorothy, the Sister.
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Dorothy, left, loved the people of Brazil and lived to show them God's goodness. |
Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1931, she was one of nine children in a devoutly Catholic family with German and Irish roots. In her book, “The Greatest Gift,” author Binka Le Breton says Dorothy was both a caregiver to her younger siblings and the one who washed a brother's mouth with soap when he was caught swearing. She was fun loving, mischievous and athletic. She was committed to volunteering in the community. She survived the Great Depression and learned early to love nature, plants and food grown from the earth.
Dorothy received her education from Sisters at what is now Chaminade Julienne High School in Dayton. When her best friend and classmate, Sister Joan Krimm, SNDdeN, announced she intended to enter the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Dorothy told her, “If you think you’re going without me, you have another think coming,” and she entered the Congregation with Joan at age 17.
As a young Sister in the early 1950s, Dorothy first taught at Catholic schools in Chicago. She was just 22 when she was called to Arizona to teach at Most Holy Trinity, a parish elementary school. She developed a passion for the families of migrant farm workers from Mexico and spent her free time teaching religion to their children.
Dorothy served in the Phoenix area for 13 years and was the community's Superior when the opportunity came to make a difference in Brazil. Sister Mary Jeanne Hayes, SNDdeN, remembers Dorothy was "chomping at the bit" to go.
"We lost a great person [in Phoenix] when she was missioned to Brazil," says Mary Jeanne, "but it was definitely her heart's desire and she was perfect for the mission."
Traveling to South America in 1966, Dorothy joined her old friend Sister Joan and a small group of Sisters committed to improving the lives of rural workers. For decades, she dedicated herself to the people of a farming village called Anapu in Pará, Brazil.
Dorothy’s many accomplishments during those years demonstrated her love for people and for the earth. She and her Sisters established 35 Christian communities in the area and
opened 39 schools to teach literacy to children and adults. They taught women about health
and nutrition and helped them start small businesses to support their families. They mentored the village leaders to be spiritual leaders as well.
Drawing on her childhood spent on a farm, Dorothy taught the men in Anapu about crops that would grow best in the forest where they lived. As she became more alarmed by the rapid deforestation of the Amazon, she partnered with the Project for Sustainable Development, a Brazilian government-sponsored program intent on improving
farming practices.
“Dorothy has been called 'stubborn,' " says Sister Carol Wetli, SNDdeN, "but stubbornness is just the flip side to commitment and vision. Dorothy had a dream and the courage to follow it.’’
Her unrelenting advocacy put her in the crosshairs of wealthy landowners who misused the
land and terrorized subsistence farmers. Dorothy publicly testified against these adversaries in support of the people's right to farm. She knew this was dangerous business, and there
was a price on her head, but her conviction was strong:
“I do not want to flee, nor do I want to abandon the battle of these farmers who live without any protection in the forest ... It is not my safety, but that of the people which matters.’’
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Dorothy Stang Park in Belém, Brazil. On right, Sister Jo Anne Depweg, SNDdeN. |
In the months before her martyrdom, Dorothy was granted citizenship in Brazil and received
three honors for her work to protect the people and the land, including Humanitarian of the Year from the Brazilian Bar Association.
“Dorothy lived her life for God,” says Joan. “Her love for her people, an extension of her deep love of God, conquered fear and gave her the courage she needed to do God’s work. Her concern was always the welfare of the poor and the preservation of the earth.”
ENDURING IMPACT
Dorothy's violent death sparked outcry around the world and cast a bright light on the corruption and hardships in Pará. The United States Congress passed a resolution to honor Dorothy's life and work (2005) and she was awarded the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights (2008). The Vatican named her a modern-day martyr.
“Dorothy gave her one and only life to lift up those made poor and to protect the Amazon
from destruction,” says Sister Kathleen Harmon, SNDdeN, Ohio Provincial. “She stands as a model of compassion, conviction and courage for all Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and for all persons who care about God's people and God's earth.”
“Dot,” as she was known by family and friends, walked miles every day, lived a simple life like the people she served, fearlessly advocated for villagers without a voice, tirelessly worked to protect the Amazon rainforest and faithfully witnessed for her good God.
The ministries Dorothy was so passionate about continue today. Sisters in Anapu report that illegal deforestation is a parasite that infects the entire municipality.
“The loggers are taking down and selling all the noble wood they can get their hands on,”
says Sister Jane Dwyer, SNDdeN. “They are highly armed, as are the ranchers and their gunmen.The government has called for 'Devastation ZERO,' but Anapu is a long way from federal government.’’ Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has pledged ZDD — zero deforestation and degradation — by 2030.
For fear of retribution, the people and the Sisters denounce illegal practices in private and with care. Their action is to replant the forest with seedlings from a nursery in São Raphael, the area where Dorothy is buried.
Dorothy's legacy is alive at the Dorothy Stang Center for Social Justice and Community
Engagement at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA. Its voice was heard in Evan
Mack’s New York opera, “Angel of the Amazon.” It walks alongside hundreds in Brazil who take a 34-mile pilgrimage each July in her honor.
Her legacy also inspires a new generation of activists who fight for social justice and the
environment, like students in Dayton and Cincinnati who design meaningful service projects and present them at an annual Stang Symposium.
In another 20 years, we will still be talking about Sister Dorothy. Her story will continue to inspire faith and action toward a more just world.
She is not forgotten.
This is one story about Sister Dorothy, but there are many untold accounts of how she impacted lives from Dayton to Chicago to Phoenix to the Amazon. Share your story: [email protected].
First Published in Cross Currents Magazine Fall 2024 Volume 20 Issue 2 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Ohio Province
Written by Tami McMann