Overview

• Cardinal Marcello Semeraro presided over the June 15 ceremony at St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome attended by hundreds of Congolese pilgrims and Vatican officials.
• Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi was killed in 2007 after refusing to allow spoiled rice from Rwanda to be distributed, an act motivated by his Christian faith and concern for the poor.
• Pope Francis recognized Kositi as a martyr in late 2024, fast-tracking his beatification and opening a path toward eventual canonization pending a confirmed miracle.
• Church leaders say Kositi’s beatification provides hope and urges a renewed fight against corruption during ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo.
• The sainthood cause was led by Rev. Francesco Tedeschi of the Saint’Egidio Community, who highlighted Kositi’s ordinary faith-driven courage as a model of holiness.