Aita Tillous memorial Mass viewing April 24th @ 3:00 PM

Apr 14, 2010 by guerrica

It has been just over a year since the passing of Aita Tillous the Basque priest that  served the US Basque communities from 1994 until his cancer prevented him from doing so. In order to honor his memory  SEE members Toni Sabarots Etulain and Jon Etulain will be hosting a viewing of the Aita Tillous Memorial Mass, Saturday April 24th @ 3:00pm. More details to come.  Please contact Toni with questions: asabarots@seanet.com

Born Martxel Tillous in  Eskiula, Xiberoa, Aita Tillous . Following his calling Aita entered the priesthood and began work as a missionary for 26 years in Africa .  Returning to Europe he served four years as the Basque chaplain for the Basque community of Paris from where he came to the United States.

Aita Martxel was the last in a line of earlier Basque chaplains. His ministry as chaplain to the Basques of the United States had him criss-crossing the country averaging 60,000 miles a year!  He usually spent 200 nights a year sleeping in his van—with the license plate “Pottoka”—as he traveled from his base in San Francisco, California to the scattered Basque communities of eleven states of the American West.  All of this to serve the spiritual needs of Basque-Americans—from celebrating Mass in the Basque language to baptizing, marrying Basque couples and consoling us at funerals.

Adapted from:   www.nabasque.org/NABO/tillous.htm     Aita Tillous (1934-2009)