(ZENIT News / Rome, 08.19.2026).- The German-born Salesian missionary Rudolf Lunkenbein and the Bororo indigenous man (Brazilian) Simão Cristino Koge Ekudugodu were martyred together while defending one another. They are on the path to the altars.
The beatification process began in 2016. The diocesan phase opened in January 2018. Vatican authorities issued their first positive decision regarding the beatification in late 2025.
This story unfolds against the backdrop of the colonial era, a time when anti-ecclesial criticism often portrayed missionaries as allies in the colonizers’ exploitation. The reality was quite different: the majority of evangelizers defended indigenous peoples and opposed the abuses of rulers and economic powers. The case of Rudolf Lunkenbein and Bororo Simão recalls the mission of Catholic missions, where the Gospel message of service and care for the vulnerable was lived out authentically, even to the point of shedding blood.
Father Rudolf Lunkenbein was born in Bavaria in 1939. From childhood, he aspired to be a missionary, inspired by the Salesian spirituality of Saint John Bosco. He completed his studies and was ordained a priest in 1969. He worked at the Meruri mission in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, evangelizing the Bororo people. In 1973, he was welcomed into the tribe, which symbolically gave him the indigenous name «Golden Fish.
In the decree Ad Gentes, Vatican Council II promoted mission work as the proclamation of the Gospel combined with the promotion of human dignity and social justice. Father Lunkenbein learned the Bororo language, shared the Bororos’ daily lives, and defended their rights, particularly against large landowners seeking to seize indigenous lands.
The conflict over Bororo land ownership sparked violence. On July 15, 1976, armed men hired by the landowners stormed the Meruri mission. Father Lunkenbein was shot and killed. Bororo Simão intervened to protect him and was also killed. Both are remembered as martyrs. Fifty years later, they are nearing beatification.
A missionary and a member of the evangelized people were united by faith and shared martyrdom.
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