Dorothy Mae Stang was born in Dayton, Ohio on June 14, 1940. When Dorothy moved to Brazil in the 1970s her goal was to help poor farmers build independent futures for their families. She helped peasants make a living by farming small plots and extracting forest products without deforestation. Dot, as she was called by her family, friends and most locals in Brazil, is often pictured wearing a t-shirt with the slogan, "A Morte da floresta é o fim da nossa vida," which is Portuguese for "The death of the forest is the end of our life."
On February 12, 2005, while Stang was peacefully reading from the Bible in the Amazon jungle, two gunmen aimed weapons at her. As she was being held at gunpoint, she read a line from the Gospel of Matthew: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied." After this, the gunman shot her at point-blank range and then shot her body five more times.
I believe Sister Dorothy is most definately a peacemaker among a world full of violence and destruction. Dorothy stood up for what she believed in without the use of violence. I think she proves her faith like Jesus stated at The Sermon on the Mount; He said not to blow a trumpet before you, but to do praying in secret. Dorothy asked for peace in a peaceful way, and was assassinated for her beliefs, like Gandhi.
--Sr. Dorothy Stang