The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA)welcomes with deep gratitude and hope the news of the approval of the decrees of venerability ofMonsignor Alejandro Labaka Ugarte and Sister Inés Arango Velásquez, missionary martyrs in Ecuadorian land, recognized this Thursday, May 22, by the PopeLeo XIVduring the audience granted to the cardinalMarcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
It is abouttwo lives marked by missionary dedication, humble service and unconditional love for the most vulnerable, particularly in border contexts, where the Church embodies its prophetic vocation.
Martyrs of the Amazon: a life offered by indigenous peoples
Monsignor Alejandro Labaka, Spanish Capuchin Bishop, andSister Inés Arango Velásquez, a Colombian nun of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family, offered her life in 1987 in defense of the Tagaeri and Waorani indigenous peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Her martyrdom was not an accident, but a conscious gesture of fidelity to the Gospel and to Jesus’ missionary mandate: to go to every corner, even at the risk of her life, to proclaim peace, respect, and the dignity of every human being.
Both were murdered after entering Indigenous territory to prevent a violent confrontation between ancestral communities and the extractive interests of logging and oil companies. Accompanied by the power of the Spirit and moved by love for the people, they took up the cross of reconciliation and nonviolence.
Witnesses of the Gospel with an Amazonian face
The testimony of Monsignor Labaka and Sister Agnese is profoundly relevant. In a time marked by predatory extractivism, the displacement of indigenous peoples, and the constant threat to the defenders of life, their memory challenges us asSynodal, missionary and inculturated Church.
His venerability confirms that theThe path to holiness also passes through the Amazon, and that the silent and courageous dedication of those who walk with the people can be the seed of the Kingdom.From CEAMA, we express ourjoy for this ecclesial recognitionand we renew our commitment to accompany, serve and protect life in all its forms in the Beloved Amazon, inspired by those who, like Alejandro and Agnese, knew how tolove to the extreme.