The Legacy of Sister Inés Arango and Bishop Alejandro Labaka Continues to Illuminate the Church
A testimony of radical love for the Gospel, Indigenous peoples, and the Amazon continues to inspire the Franciscan family and all those who believe in a mission lived through fraternity, justice, and care for our common home.
In the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon, one of the most moving missionary testimonies of the contemporary Church remains forever engraved. On July 21, 1987, Sister Inés Arango Velásquez, a Capuchin Tertiary Sister of the Holy Family born in Medellín, Colombia, and Bishop Alejandro Labaka, a Spanish Capuchin friar and bishop, gave their lives during a mission of peace in service of Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation. Their memory remains alive as a constant call to live the Gospel through closeness, dialogue, and total self-giving.
More than a historical event, their martyrdom constitutes a spiritual legacy that continues to inspire the Church and, in a special way, the Franciscan family. Both understood mission as a humble and respectful presence among the peoples of the Amazon, convinced that proclaiming the Gospel begins with encounter, attentive listening, and the recognition of the dignity of every culture.
For years they shared their lives with Indigenous communities, learned their language, embraced their worldview, and walked alongside them with profound respect. Their missionary commitment reflected the Franciscan spirit of universal fraternity and evangelical simplicity, always placing closeness before imposition and service before every form of power.
Their final missionary journey powerfully summarizes the meaning of an entire life of self-giving. As they entered the territory of the Tagaeri people, they stepped down from the helicopter without weapons, without symbols of authority, and even removed their shoes and anything that could be interpreted as a threat. Their sole purpose was to open a path of dialogue that would help protect the lives of Indigenous communities threatened by the advance of oil exploitation into their ancestral lands.
During this mission of reconciliation, they were attacked. After Bishop Alejandro was killed, Sister Inés, although she had the opportunity to escape, chose to remain by his side until the very end, sharing the same fate and sealing with her own blood a life completely devoted to the love of Christ and the service of the most vulnerable.
The Church has recognized that their death was not the result of hatred toward the Christian faith, but rather the supreme expression of a life freely offered out of love. For this reason, their path toward sainthood is advancing under the category of the «offering of life,» acknowledging that both transformed the Gospel into a radical gift of self in the service of others.
Today, the witness of Sister Inés Arango and Bishop Alejandro Labaka has renewed relevance. In a world marked by inequality, conflict, and threats against creation, their example continues to invite us to defend the dignity of Indigenous peoples, promote justice, build peace, and assume responsibility for caring for the Amazon as a heritage of all humanity.
For the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family, Sister Inés remains a permanent source of vocational and missionary inspiration. Her creative fidelity to the Gospel reminds us that authentic mission is born of love, strengthened by fraternity, and reaches its fullest expression when it becomes generous service to those most in need.
As we remember their lives and their total self-giving, we also renew our prayer that the Lord may grant the entire Church the same missionary spirit that inspired these venerable witnesses of the Gospel. Through the intercession of Sister Inés Arango and Bishop Alejandro Labaka, may we learn to live a faith committed to justice, peace, universal fraternity, and care for our common home, making every step of our lives a true offering of love in the service of the Kingdom of God.
