IFTTT Autopost Domingo del Barrio Batz was born on January 26, 1951 in Canton Ilom in the municipality of Chajul, Guatemala.
Domingo had the reputation of being a simple, honest, and friendly person with a ready smile for one and all. He was also active in his parish church, San Gaspar, from a young age. As he grew up, he was active in Catholic Action, and one of his activities was visiting homes with other catechists of the parish and reading the Bible for those who were unable to read.
As an adult, Domingo served his parish as a sacristan, friend, and right-hand man to Fr. José María Gran, a Sacred Heart missionary priest. As time went on, Domingo began traveling with Fr. Gran on his missionary journeys and served as a nurse and translator for Fr. Gran and his fellow Sacred Heart missionaries.
At the time he served the missionary priests, Guatemala was engaged in a deadly civil war. In time, over 200,000 Guatemalans were either killed or “disappeared,” never to be found.
When it became clear that their lives were in danger, Fr. Gran encouraged Domingo to leave him and go to his home, for Domingo was the father of three children. Domingo told the priest that they were a team, and that if the government soldiers killed the priest, they would kill him too. He said, “…we come together and return together. Don’t be sad.”
On June 4, 1980, soldiers ambushed and killed Fr. Gran and Domingo by riddling them with bullets. Domingo was 29-years old, and Fr. Gran was 35.
Domingo, along with nine other martyrs, are collectively known as the “Ten Martyrs of El Quiché,” and all have been beatified. Their feast day if June 4.
