Pope beatifies native American of Argentina

Pope Benedict XVI signed on July 6 a decree declaring the upcoming beatification of an Argentine native American. Ceferino Namuncurá, son of a native chieftain and student of the Salesian order of priests was born in the province of Rio Negro on August 26, 1886 and died at Rome on November 11, 1905.

Now known as a “Servant of God”, Namuncurá’s beatification will be officially announced on November 11 in his native city in the Patagonia region of Argentina. He will be the first Native American born in Argentina to be declared one of the Church’s “blessed” or “beati”.

The pontiff received today in private audience Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, who serves as the prefect of the Congregation for the Cause of Sainthood. During the interview, the pope authorized a series of decrees. Among them was the cause of Namuncurá’s beatification, which came about after a miracle was attributed to his intervention.

The miracle

A miracle attributed to Namuncurá’s intervention came about in 2000 when the family of a 24-year-old woman suffering from uterine cancer appeared to be instantly cured after her family had asked for the deceased Patagonian’s intervention before God. The woman was cured and has since been able to conceive a child. The cure has been deemed medically inexplicable and was corroborated by medical diagnosis before and after the disappearance of the woman’s cancer. In December 2006, the Holy See recognized this first miracle attributed to Namuncurá.

The cause for Namuncurá’s beatification began in 1944 and Pope Pius XII approved of introducing the case in 1957. Pope Paul VI declared Namuncurá “Venerable” in 1972, having recognized his Christian virtues. He was the first Argentine to achieve this distinction.

Ceferino Namuncurá was born in the chilly and windswept southern province of Rio Negro to Manuel Namuncurá, a native chieftain, and Rosario Burgos, a Chilean woman. He received his primary education in the Tigre region near Buenos Aires and was a companion of Carlos Gardel – famed Argentine tango singer and matinee idol.

Namuncurá was adopted by Salesian priest Juan Cagliero in 1898 and, at the age of 17,felt himself called to the priesthood. However, because of ill-health, the Salesian order to which he applied sent him to Viedma where he was a student at a Sa