Father Leo - 37 Years in Brazil

Father Leo Dolan, former priest of St Alphege's parish, and for the last 37 years serving the poor people of Brazil as a missionary on behalf of Clifton Diocese, asks something of you.

Father Leo’s Ministry at St Alphege’s and Clifton Diocese

Father Leo Dolan came to St Alphege’s parish in 1963 and stayed until 1969 when he moved on to Stroud. On a brief visit to Bath in 2008 he said, “I was very happy at Bath and I was working well. But there was always something at the back of my mind. ”You should do something else – more of a challenge”. It was the Holy Spirit working away at me.” I wrote to Bishop Rudderham asking to go on a mission, hoping he would say No. I got a big disappointment when he said, “From June 1970 you are free to go.” It was a big thing because I was leaving a lot of friends and interests. But then I went to Brazil and it was really good, and I can’t complain.”

"My prayers and my good wishes, and my heart go to all the good people I have known here in Bath and Clifton. Many of them have gone to their rest, but the memories are great. We can take almost everything from a person, but we can never take the memories we have of that person. Those memories of people here will be with me for ever".

In Brazil - the fight for the people

For 34 years Father Leo served at a small parish in Osasco on the outskirts of San Paulo. “In the early days we had very few priests; only 2 or 3 Brazilians in the Diocese, but now, thank God, we are self sufficient with the recent ordinations. In Osasco we used to work at building up the communities, then in the jails, the marriage councils and other things, as well as dealing with the Land Question”.

“In January 2008 I was asked to go up country to the Amazon Basin to Rondonia. The rain forest is all around the parish, with the beauty of nature, but also the problems that we all know about – cutting down trees, pollution of rivers by insecticides that are used way down country to help grow the soya, maize and coffee. There are 24 little communities, each with their own minister, so they are able to put on their own worship, baptisms and weddings”.

“I have been involved in the Land Question for a number of years and I think it is the most important in the church’s work. It is based on the document ”To promote the dignity of the human person, and to promote a better society”,” which is really in the Kingdom, God's Kingdom. We do this by our testimony to Jesus Christ, the testimony that we don’t know all the answers, but we are with Him in the fight for the people to have a better division of the riches. 10% of the people own more than 80% of the wealth in Latin America. We are all involved in this because the banks in Europe, the United States and Switzerland receive money from Brazil and South America that they should not receive: there is a lot of money hidden away in vaults. Things are being tightened up but there is a long way still to go".

The Land Question and Human Rights

As a minister of Christ, and with his concern for the poor of his communities, Father Leo has been actively concerned about the inequalities in Brazil and Latin America, greatly resulting from the inequality of the ownership of land. 18 million of the poor are homeless. The government have now been actively engaged in redistributing land to those who have none, and have allocated some land for settlement. However, according to reports, four or five huts in a camp of innocent land settlers known to Father Leo were set on fire and destroyed in August 2009. So far as is known, nobody was injured or killed but threats were made to kill all the adults in the camp and intimidate those seeking legal portions of land.

On behalf of Father Leo a small group of Catholics from around Clifton Diocese, led by Dr Derek Indoe of St John’s who has lived and worked in Brazil, made representations to the Brazilian Embassy in London, and as a result were invited to meet Secretary Luis Filipe Pereira de Carvalho, Head of Human Rights Sector. Dr Indoe said, “Father Leo lives and works with the poor and marginalised in Brazil. Much of his ministry has been inside some of the toughest prisons in the world. He also works with the poor who seek just a small portion of land on which to live. Father Leo, both in prayer and action, sees his vocation as a priest to be a witness to the Good News and the resurrected Christ in communities that are often broken and disfigured by violence”.

After the meeting with the Secretary at the Brazilian Embassy Dr Indoe reported, “It was a very productive meeting. We were able to discuss and seek clarification about violent events in Brazil. We also spoke about how the work of landless people can be protected and supported by the Brazilian authorities and other agencies. It is good to confirm that human rights are on the agenda for young people in Brazil as well as exploring where our dialogue with the Brazilian Government might progress.”

The Long Journey by Motorcycle

Dr Derek subsequently set off for Brazil where he met with Father Leo and his people, and saw for himself the situation on the ground. He sent occasional reports and photos back to Clifton Diocese where they can be viewed on Clifton Diocese website. He is also producing a video of the visit.

During his visit to Brazil Dr Derek Indoe met and stayed with Father Leo. While he was there Father Leo set off for Jequitiba, a remote and almost inaccessible place, to get pictures of the site where the huts had been set alight the previous August. Dr Derek could not go with him because the road was a dirt track and two of the bridges had been broken down. The 71-year old Father Leo travelled on the back of a motor cycle, the first time he had been on a bike for years and years. On the way the bike became stuck in a muddy river bed. At Jequitiba they found the burnt-out huts untouched, still awaiting an official investigation.

Father Leo and Dr Derek attended a national seminar in Brasilia on land reform, and met with representatives from INCRA, the government organisation charged with agrarian reform in Brazil, and also with one of the congressmen who is going to maintain contact with them.

Dr Derek returned to the U.K. but has kept in touch with the Father Leo in Brazil.

Murder of a Community Leader. A Call to End the Killings.

In May 2012 Adelino Ramos ("Dhino") was shot dead in front of his wife and daughters, aged six and four. He was a community leader seeking justice for landless people in the Amazon. Father Leo is supporting Dinho's family.

Father Leo said, "Dinho's murder was brutal, unjust and shocking. His needless killing is the latest in a long line of injustices that have been inflicted on the poor and landless people. It needs to stop. For peace to triumph, the people responsible for the killings, especially those who order them, must come to justice. Brazil's people do not deserve this."

On 7th September 2012 Father Leo and members of the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission met with officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London to report on the situation in Brazil. The following day he met parishioners from St Alphege's and other churches in Bath, at St John's to tell them about his work for justice and how they can assist in practical ways.

Father Leo Asks ...

.. not for money (although please take advantage of any opportunity to give) but for our awareness of our brothers and sisters in Brazil, all members of God’s great family: their families, their communities, their lives, the problems they face, their joys and their sorrows. He asks that we think of them all, pray for them, help and support them in any way we can, and extend our love to them. He also asks that we make more people aware of the fight for justice in Brazil.

Find Out More

Go to Clifton Diocese website for the latest news of Father Leo.


Listen to Father Leo talking about his journey to the burnt-out huts and the current situation , also Dr Derek talking about the conference and new contacts. Hear also Father Leo talking upon his visit in August 2010 to his home diocese of Clifton.

Listen to a podcast on Clifton Diocese website of Father Leo talking to Tom Bigwood during a visit to Clifton Diocese in 2008, on his thoughts, his beliefs, his life in Brazil and the people of Brazil. Also his podcasts inAugust 2010. and June 2011.

Listen to podcasts of Dr Derek Indoe talking about Father Leo and his work, conditions of the people in Brazil, and the meeting at the Brazilian Embassy .

Read Father Leo's words on how Lent was marked in Brazil in 2011 with a campaign for fraternity and respect for life on our planet.

Listen to a specially extended podcast of Father Leo talking in August 2010 during his visit to his home Diocese of Clifton. He talks about his life in Brazil and the everyday struggles of his parishioners in the Amazon. He also tells us about one of his amazing parishioners who was dedicated to reducing infant mortality in Brazil. She then went to assist people in Haiti following January's devastating earthquake. She was tragically killed in the Caribbean, but Father Leo explains how her legacy lives on.