AMERICA/ECUADOR – Father Enio Esteves dies in plane crash: The Salesian served as a missionary among the Amazonian peoples

Quito – The Salesian Province of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ecuador announced the death of Father Enio Esteves . A statement from the Salesians’ press office reported the plane crash in which the missionary died on the afternoon of January 26.

The province recalled that Father Esteves “lived out his missionary vocation at the service of the Amazonian peoples of our country until the very last moment of his life.”

According to local media reports, the priest was on a missionary flight to Wasakentsa in a small plane. Two other people were on board: Danny López, the pilot, and a young volunteer, Roberto Wisum. According to initial reports, an explosion occurred after the crash.

Father Esteves was from East Timor, where he was born in 1979. Since 2009, he had lived in Ecuador, where he held numerous positions, first in the community of Bomboiza, then in Yaupi, and finally, since 2023, in Wasakentsa.

Among the messages of condolence, Father Marcelo Farfán, Superior of the Salesian Province of Ecuador, expressed his deep sorrow at his death. “We extend our condolences to his family and friends and, at the same time, thank the Lord for this great Salesian missionary who dedicated his life to proclaiming the Gospel, especially among the Shuar and Achuar peoples in the Apostolic Vicariate of Méndez.”

The funeral will take place on Wednesday, January 28, at the Cathedral of La Purísima in Macas.

The first Salesian missionaries, sent by Don Bosco himself, arrived in Ecuador on January 12, 1888, and began their work in Quito on January 28 of the same year. They took over the management of the Catholic Protectorate of Arts and Crafts, an institution dedicated to the training of artisans and technicians. They also founded an oratory for poor children and began to expand their work to other cities, establishing communities in Riobamba in 1890 and in Cuenca in 1893. This pioneering work marked the beginning of the educational and pastoral work of the Salesians of Don Bosco, which continues to this day in the country’s three regions: the Coast, the Sierra, and the Amazon.

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