For years, Father Martxel Tillous was he Catholic priest assigned to cover the Basque communities across the American West. He was known simply as “aita,” or father, in the Basque language of Euskera. He died last year of cancer.
In honor of the beloved priest, the Seattle Basque Club will be viewing a video of a memorial Mass held last year for Aita Tillous on Saturday April 24 at 3 p.m. For more information, check out the club’s website.
Beginning in 1994, Aita Tillous drove thousands of miles in his van to celebrate Basque weddings, funerals and festival masses. His license plate said “Pottoka,” or a wild Basque pony.
With the onset of cancer, Aita Tillous returned to Europe, where he passed away in 2009.
