• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, a priest who was found stabbed to death in a targeted attack Feb. 14, 2025, is seen in an undated photo. Thousands of people gathered in the small village of Pyin Oo Lwin in Myanmar to pay their final respects to the priest killed in a country tormented by violence of a four-year civil war. (OSV News photo/courtesy ACN)

Thousands in Myanmar village gather at funeral to mourn slain priest

February 18, 2025
By Junno Arocho Esteves
OSV News
Filed Under: News, Religious Freedom, Uncategorized, World News

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Thousands of people gathered Feb. 16 in the small village of Pyin Oo Lwin in Myanmar to pay their final respects to Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, a priest who was found stabbed to death in a targeted attack.

According to Fides, the news agency of the Dicastery for Evangelization, an estimated 5,000 people attended the funeral with Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay presiding. He called for an end to violence in the country’s civil war, which “only brings death and destruction.”

The archbishop called on “all armed groups and actors involved in the conflict to lay down their weapons and take a path of peace and reconciliation.”

Myanmar has been in the throes of a civil war since 2021 when a military coup dashed democratic aspirations. Since then, the governing military junta has been accused of violence against civilians opposed to its rule and has been engaged in multiple conflicts with armed groups in the country.

The military junta was responsible for carrying out airstrikes that destroyed Sacred Heart Church, located in Chin state in western Myanmar Feb. 6. The church was supposed to serve as the cathedral of the new Diocese of Mindat, which was erected by Pope Francis at the end of January.

Father Win was stabbed to death and mutilated Feb. 14. Parishioners discovered the priest’s body on the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Kan Gyi Taw, a small village in central Myanmar’s Shwe Bo district.

According to Fides, several unnamed sources indicated that the nature of the priest’s brutal murder “suggested a targeted attack.” The People’s Defense Force, a rebel group fighting the military junta that controls the area, are investigating the murder and have arrested ten men who lived in the same village Father Win was murdered.

The suspects, Fides said, were transferred “to a court set up by the People’s Defense Force in the areas currently defined as ‘liberated areas,’ that is, not under the control of the Burmese government.”

Burmese Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, president of the bishops’ conference of Myanmar, also lamented Father Win’s death and prayed that in “learning from these heartbreaking experiences that we have encountered, may the fraternal spirit be awakened, and we earnestly appeal for an end to the violence.”

“May the blood and sacrifices of countless innocent people, along with Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, serve as an offering to ending the violence that is occurring throughout the Nation,” Cardinal Bo said.

He also called on authorities in the area “to take appropriate action and ensure justice is served, so that such incidents do not occur again in the future.”

The Vatican also expressed its condolences for Father Win’s death in a message read at the funeral by Msgr. Andrea Ferrante, the Holy See’s chargé d’affaires in Myanmar.

Calling Father Win a “victim of unjustified violence,” the Vatican encouraged the missionaries, clergy, and the faithful to “continue their mission with zeal, despite all difficulties, following the example of Jesus, the Good Shepherd” and prayed that Mary “sustains the Burmese people in a spirit of communion, unity, and solidarity.”

In a statement published Feb. 17, Regina Lynch, executive president of the pontifical charitable organization Aid to the Church in Need, said Father Win’s death reflected “the challenge and immense risk that the Church faces in a context of widespread violence, as clashes between the Myanmar army and opposition militias continue.”

“In the face of such violence, that affects the entire population, priests like Father Donald Martin dedicate themselves to helping their communities, providing spiritual comfort and support to the suffering people in the region,” Lynch said. “His death highlights the difficult situation faced by the Catholic community in Myanmar and the courage of those who continue to serve the people, despite the dangers.”

Commenting on the attack on Sacred Heart Church earlier in the month, Lynch reiterated that “the destruction of a place of worship, no matter of which religion, is an attack not only against the faith community but also against the fundamental right of all people to have a place to express their faith.

Read More Religious Freedom

Kidnapped Nigerian priest who served in Alaska freed

Huckabee demands Israel punish settlers for ‘act of terror’ on West Bank church

Myanmar opposition court sentences 9 men to 20 years for killing priest

FBI to investigate anti-Catholic, antisemitic vandalism at Pittsburgh area church

Proof of life for kidnapped Nigerian priest received by Alaska diocese where he served

Mahmoud v. Taylor: A Supreme Court victory for parents, freedom

Copyright © 2025 OSV News

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Junno Arocho Esteves

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Prince of Peace merges with St. Francis de Sales in Harford County

  • Quo Vadis attracts biggest crowd ever, promotes camaraderie and faith

  • NBC’s Tom Llamas says Catholic education deepened his faith, pushed him to always do his best

  • Construction underway on new north addition to St. Joseph’s Nursing Home 

  • Archbishop Wenski leads Knights on Bikes to pray rosary at Alligator Alcatraz

| Latest Local News |

Driver arrested after crashing into entrance of Esperanza Center

Construction underway on new north addition to St. Joseph’s Nursing Home 

Prince of Peace merges with St. Francis de Sales in Harford County

Radio Interview: Youth ministry changing with the times

Quo Vadis attracts biggest crowd ever, promotes camaraderie and faith

| Latest World News |

IDF says Gaza Holy Family Parish hit was errant mortar round that veered off course

Holy See at the UN urges sustainable development as U.S. pulls out of UNESCO

Peace by force is a ‘troubling’ idea, Iran cardinal says

U.S. to withdraw, again, from UNESCO over Palestine and UN development goals

Judge blocks defunding of some, but not all, Planned Parenthood groups

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Driver arrested after crashing into entrance of Esperanza Center
  • IDF says Gaza Holy Family Parish hit was errant mortar round that veered off course
  • Holy See at the UN urges sustainable development as U.S. pulls out of UNESCO
  • Peace by force is a ‘troubling’ idea, Iran cardinal says
  • U.S. to withdraw, again, from UNESCO over Palestine and UN development goals
  • Judge blocks defunding of some, but not all, Planned Parenthood groups
  • Catholic Church mourns deaths in Bangladesh military plane crash
  • Question Corner: Does reception of the Eucharist replace confession?
  • Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on horizon

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en