Inés Arango Velásquez

In 1977, responding to the Church's missionary call, Sister Inés volunteered to be part of the first expedition of the Tertiary Capuchin Sisters to Aguarico, in the Ecuadorian Amazon region. She exercised her apostolate there in three successive communities: Shushufindi, Nuevo Rocafuerte, and Coca, assuming the role of superior in the latter two locations. In Nuevo Rocafuerte, she worked actively at the local hospital while evangelizing the indigenous populations living along the Napo River, under the pastoral direction of the Capuchin missionaries, notably Father Alejandro Labaka Ugarte and Father Manuel Amunárriz. In 1987, she was assigned to Coca to dedicate herself specifically to the evangelization and accompaniment of the Huaorani people. Sister Inés quickly became aware of the grave threats weighing on these indigenous populations, particularly the isolated Tagaeri tribe, due to the aggressive advance of oil companies and the risks of physical and cultural violence. Faced with this imminent danger, she decided, alongside Monsignor Alejandro Labaka Ugarte (then Vicar Apostolic of Aguarico), to venture into the virgin forest to attempt to establish peaceful contact with the Tagaeri in order to protect them and serve as mediators. On July 21, 1987, in the Tigüino area, Sister Inés and Monsignor Labaka were attacked and killed with spears by members of the tribe who felt cornered by external pressures. Their lifeless bodies were found the following day.

The cause for beatification of Sister Inés Arango Velásquez was introduced jointly with that of Monsignor Alejandro Labaka Ugarte. The diocesan process allowed for the collection of testimonies regarding their lives, their virtues, and the circumstances of their heroic death.

On May 22, 2025, during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV signed the decree officially recognizing the "offering of life" (oblatio vitae) of Sister Inés Arango Velásquez. This decree raised her to the rank of Venerable. The offering of life is a path to holiness introduced by Pope Francis in 2017 through the motu proprio Maiorem hac dilectionem, which honors the faithful who have freely and voluntarily offered their lives out of charity in the face of certain and imminent death.

Sister Inés Arango Velásquez is currently recognized as Venerable by the Catholic Church. The recognition of her offering of life by the decree of May 22, 2025, constitutes the first major step toward her beatification. According to the canonical rules governing the path of oblatio vitae, the recognition of a miracle formally attributed to her intercession, which occurred after her death, is now required for her to be proclaimed Blessed.

Sister Inés's spirituality was deeply rooted in the Franciscan and Amigonian charism, characterized by simplicity, humility, and a preferential attention to the poorest and the excluded. Her commitment to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon bears witness to an incarnated faith and a profound respect for creation and human dignity, anticipating by several decades the calls of the encyclical Laudato si' regarding the safeguarding of our "common home." On the eve of her departure for her final mission in the jungle, she wrote these prophetic words that summarize her total abandonment to the divine will: "If I die, I leave happy, I hope that no one will know anything about me, I seek neither glory nor name, God knows it, always with everyone, Inés." Each year, around July 21, her memory and that of Monsignor Labaka are celebrated in Ecuador, notably through a missionary walk ("Caminata") connecting Quito to Coca, gathering many faithful, religious, and young people eager to walk in the footsteps of these "martyrs of the Amazon."