It is rare to see the basilica of San Paolo outside the walls so crowded. Yet, on Sunday 15 June, one of those miracles that only holiness knows how to make filled the naves of one of the most solemn places in Rome. Prayer, party and emotion accompanied the beatification of Floribert Bwana chuiyoung Congolese layman, martyr of justice, faith and consciousness.
A strong, moved, vital African presence: Congolese were mostly, who came as well as by Democratic Republic of the Congofrom all over Italy and Europe, to act as living frame to this memory of courage and gospel lived to the end. With them, the Community of Sant’Egidioto which Floribert belonged, present with its founder Andrea Riccardi, that at the end of the celebration took the floor with a touching intervention, after that pronounced by the cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa, on behalf of the Congolese Church. The beatification took place in Rome also for the insecurity that has reigned for years in Goma and throughout the Kivu.
The Cardinal presided over the liturgy Marcello SemeraroPrefect of the Dicastery for the causes of the saints, who proclaimed beatification on behalf of Pope Leo XIV and in the homily he called Floribert a “Master of hope” For many young Africans, “He teaches not to be overcome by evil, but to win evil with good”, But also for everyone, because in his example “many young people from all over the world can discover the strength of the good and to do good, resisting the enticements of a life dominated by fear and money”.
Had been Pope Francis, In November 2024, to recognize Floribert’s martyrdom “in hate to faith”, opening the way to his official recognition among the Blesseds.
Floribert was born in Goma in 1981. At only 26 years old, he worked as a customs officer on the border between Congo and Rwanda. He was a young man engaged in the faith and profoundly aware of the moral responsibility of his work. In July 2007, he opposed decisively to an attempt to corruption: He refused to pass some matches of foreseen foods in exchange for money. They were intended for the market, and therefore to damage the health of the most vulnerable population. For this fidelity to the truth and life of others, it was seized, tortured and finally killed. His body was found on July 7th. An atrocious death, but as clear as his conscience. In the homily, Cardinal Semeraro recalled this moment, calling him the moment of the “dear price” lived by the young Floribert: “It was when with the threats and flattering of corruption he was asked to make the customs of the avaried food that would have poisoned the tables of the people of Goma. He, nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, asked himself: “If I do this, am I living in Christ? Are I living for Christ?”. “As a Christian – so he replied – I cannot accept to sacrifice people’s lives. It is better to die than to accept this money».
“His is a martyrdom linked to corruption, the cult of money at all costs, which continues to threaten the dignity and the future not only of Africa, but of the whole world”, wrote the Community of Sant’Egidio in the press release that announced the beatification, «Floribert leaves us a precious legacy. A faith lived fully, capable of resisting evil and illuminating the lives of others. It is an example for all of us, for young people, for those who believe in justice and do not want to give in to indifference ».
The mother and the brothers of Floribert were present at the celebration, who brought the relic of the new Blessed to the altar in a gesture full of intensity: the dress he worked in the moment of martyrdom.
There are also numerous representatives, ministers and ambassadors, of the Congolese public authority, and exponents of the Catholic Congolese Church, including Monsignor Willy Ngumbi, Bishop of Goma, in addition to the cardinal of Kinshasa Fridolin Ambongo and the president of the Episcopal and Archbishop conference of Lubumbashi Fulgence Muteba.
The songs in Swahili and the African rhythm alternated with the style of Sant’Egidio’s own liturgy, in a symphony that told the universality of the Church and the unity in diversity.
Andrea Riccardi recalled that Floribert speaks to our time, marked by the cult of money and strength. His is a young, African voice, full of hope. His dream was simple and profound: that young people could live as brothers, sit together with a common table. For this reason he had chosen the community of Sant’Egidio, where peace is built starting from relationships, respect, solidarity. “Everyone is entitled to peace in the heart,” he said.
Today his heart speaks to ours. His gesture is not only an individual heroic act, but the sign that even in a difficult context, such as the Kivu regionthrough years of conflicts and tensions for years, holiness is possible. Indeed, necessary.
His choice speaks to everyone, even outside the Congo. It is a word of truth for the young people of Europe often disoriented, for resigned adults, For those responsible for public affairs, for anyone who is, every day, to decide whether to give or resist.
Floribert is the fourth blessed Congolese. Before him, they had been beatified: in 1985 the religious Anuarite Clémentine Nengapeta; In 1994 the catechist Isidore Bakanja and in 2023 the priest Albert Kisonga Jolybert, originally from the diocese of Uvira.
