Alejandro Labaka Ugarte

The work of Alejandro Labaka Ugarte is inseparable from his total commitment to the indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon, particularly the Huaorani (or Waorani). Anxious to devote himself fully to their evangelization and the defense of their rights, he renounced his position as apostolic prefect on February 8, 1969 (resignation effective in 1970). He then ventured deep into the jungle to live as closely as possible to these communities, learning their language and immersing himself in their culture.

From 1971 to 1975, he exercised his pastoral ministry in Coca and Enokanque. In 1982, he was re-elected superior of the Capuchin mission and appointed pro-prefect of Aguarico. On July 2, 1984, the prefecture was elevated to the rank of apostolic vicariate, and Alejandro Labaka became its first apostolic vicar, as well as titular bishop of Pomaria. He was consecrated bishop on December 9, 1984, by Msgr. Maximiliano Spiller.

His pastoral action unfolded in a context of strong tensions linked to the expansion of oil and logging companies, which threatened the ancestral territories of the indigenous people. Msgr. Labaka became the tireless defender of ethnic minorities, denouncing the predatory exploitation of the forest and pleading for respect for the dignity and sovereignty of the peoples of the jungle. He collaborated closely with other missionaries, notably the Colombian sister Inés Arango Velásquez, a member of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family.

On July 21, 1987, Bishop Alejandro Labaka and Sister Inés Arango Velásquez decided to travel by helicopter to the Tigüino region, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Their goal was to establish peaceful contact with the Tagaeri, a clan of the Huaorani living in voluntary isolation and known to be hostile to outsiders. The missionaries knew that oil companies were preparing to enter this territory, which risked causing a bloody confrontation and the extermination of the tribe. Aware of the extreme danger, Bishop Labaka uttered this memorable phrase: "If we do not go, they will kill them" ("Si no vamos nosotros, los matan a ellos").

Shortly after being dropped off by helicopter, the two missionaries were attacked and killed with spears and arrows by members of the Tagaeri tribe, who likely mistook them for agents or intermediaries of the oil companies. Their bodies, riddled with spears, were found the next day. They are buried in the cathedral of Coca, where their tombstone bears the inscription: "They died for what they loved" ("Murieron por lo que amaban").

The cause for the beatification of Alejandro Labaka Ugarte was officially opened on July 4, 1994, in the Apostolic Vicariate of Aguarico. Unlike other causes of martyrs of the faith, his process was investigated under the category of the "offering of life" (oblatio vitae), a path to holiness established by Pope Francis in 2017 through the apostolic letter Maiorem hac dilectionem. Indeed, although they were killed violently, their attackers did not act out of hatred for the Christian faith (which they did not know), but to defend their territory. However, the missionaries consciously and voluntarily offered their lives out of Christian charity to save these people.

On May 22, 2025, during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the offering of life of Alejandro Labaka Ugarte, thereby declaring him venerable. His companion in martyrdom, Sister Inés Arango Velásquez, was declared venerable on the same day. For their beatification to be pronounced, the recognition of a miracle attributed to their intercession is now required.

The spirituality of Bishop Alejandro Labaka is based on a profound theology of inculturation and the presence of the "seeds of the Word" (semina Verbi) within all human cultures, a concept highlighted by the Second Vatican Council. For him, evangelization did not consist of imposing a Western culture, but of discovering the presence of God already at work among the forest peoples, loving them sincerely, and becoming one of them. This bold vision of mission, inspired by the Franciscan and Capuchin spirit, led him to adopt a lifestyle of great simplicity, sharing the daily life and living conditions of the indigenous people.

His legacy is today perpetuated by the Alejandro Labaka Foundation (FAL), a non-governmental organization dedicated to research, cultural promotion, and the defense of the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon, in particular the Waorani and clans in voluntary isolation such as the Tagaeri and the Taromenane. His memory remains a powerful symbol of the Church's commitment to social justice, integral ecology, and the protection of the most vulnerable populations in the face of the excesses of extractivism.