He Baptized 175 People at the River. He Did Not Live to See Monday End.

On the last Sunday of June, Father Crépin Martial Monga stood at the Mbomou River in Zémio, in the eastern Central African Republic, and baptized 175 people. Most of them, 160, were members of his own parish who had fled their homes because of the fighting. He walked the newly baptized back from the riverbank himself. He was 36 years old.

The next evening he drove toward the parish residence on the short road that runs from an army checkpoint to his door. At around 6:40 p.m., gunmen opened fire on the vehicle. Father Monga was struck in the head. He died instantly. A parishioner traveling with him took a bullet in the neck.

No one has claimed the killing. No suspect has been named.