Floribert Bwana Chui
Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Floribèrt Bwana Chui bin Kositi 13 June 1981 Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Died | 8 July 2007 Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Beatified | 15 June 2025, Rome, Italy by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro |
| Feast | 8 July |
Floribert Bwana Chui (13 June 1981 — 8 July 2007) was a Congolese customs worker who was murdered for refusing a bribe to allow the import of rancid rice from Rwanda into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was a member of the Community of Sant'Egidio and beatified by the Catholic Church on 15 June 2025.
Life
[edit]Early life
[edit]Floribert Bwana Chui was born 13 June 1981 in Goma on the border of Rwanda. He received a degree in law and became a member of the Community of Sant'Egidio, a lay Catholic religious community which focuses on conflict resolution and service to the poor. After working in Kinshasa at the Office Congolais de Contrôle, he returned to Goma and worked at the customs office. In addition to his career, he was dedicated to serving street children.[1]
Death
[edit]On 7 July 2007, he was offered a bribe to import rancid rice from Rwanda. He refused out of fidelity to his Catholic faith. In retaliation, he was kidnapped and tortured to death, succumbing to his injuries—including broken teeth, a broken arm, and an iron being pressed to his genitals and buttocks—on 8 July 2007. His body was discovered on 9 July.[1][2]
Beatification
[edit]On 25 November 2024, Pope Francis authorized the cause for the canonization of Floribert Bwana Chui as a martyr killed in hatred of the faith.[3]
On 15 June 2025, Floribert Bwana Chui was beatified in a Mass presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro.[4] On 16 June 2025, Pope Leo XIV addressed a group of pilgrims from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, praising the newly beatified martyr's spirituality and encouraging the pilgrims to follow his example.[5]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b "FLORIBERT BWANA CHUI". www.santegidio.org. Community of Sant'Egidio. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ "#8thJuly Memory of Floribert Bwana Chui". www.santegidiousa.org. Community of Sant'Egidio USA. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ "Promulgation of Decrees of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints". press.vatican.va.
- ^ "Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui: A witness to goodness and peace - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 16 June 2025.
- ^ Pope Leo XIV. "To pilgrims from the Democratic Republic of Congo, gathered for the Beatification of Floribert Bwana Chui (16 June 2025) | LEO XIV". www.vatican.va.