A Congolese customs worker who resisted corruption is beatified by the Vatican

ROME — The Vatican on Sunday beatified a Congolese customs worker who was killed for resisting a bribe, giving young people in a place with endemic corruption a new model of holiness: Someone who refused to allow spoiled rice to be distributed to poor people.

The head of the Vatican's saint-making office, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, presided over the beatification ceremony of Floribèrt Bwana Chui Bin Kositi on Sunday at one of the pontifical basilicas in Rome, St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The event attracted a cheering crowd of Congolese pilgrims and much of Rome's Congolese Catholic community, who will be treated to a special audience Monday with Pope Leo XIV.

Faithful wore T-shirts and vests with Kositi's portrait and erupted in chants and applause as soon as the beatification ceremony was concluded, waving Congolese flags.

He refused to allow rancid rice across border

Kositi was kidnapped and killed in 2007 after he refused to allow rancid rice from Rwanda to be transported across the border to the eastern Congo city of Goma.

As an official with the Congolese government's custom's quality control office, the 26-year-old knew the risks of resisting bribes offered to public officials. But he also knew the risks of allowing spoiled food to be distributed to the most desperate.

''On that day, those mafiosi found themselves in front of a young man who, in the name of the Gospel, said ‘No.' He opposed,'' his friend Aline Minani said. "And Floribèrt, I think that for me personally, I would say for all young people, is a role model.''

Pope Francis recognize Kositi as a martyr

Pope Francis recognized Kositi as a martyr of the faith late last year, setting him on the path to beatification and to possibly become Congo's first saint. The move fit into the pope's broader understanding of martyr as a social justice concept, allowing those deemed to have been killed for doing God's work and following the Gospel to be considered for sainthood.

''Our country almost holds the gold medal for corruption among the countries of the world," Goma Bishop Willy Ngumbi told reporters last week. "Here, corruption is truly endemic. So, if we could at least learn from this boy's life that we must all fight corruption … I think that would be very important.''

Transparency International last year gave Congo one of the poorest marks on its corruption perception index, ranking it 163 out of 180 countries surveyed and 20 on the organization's 0-100 scale, with 0 highly corrupt and 100 very clean.

Beatification brings joy to Goma

The beatification has brought joy to Goma at a time of anguish. Violent fighting between government forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels has led to the death of thousands of people and the rebels' capture of the city has exacerbated what already was one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises.

It has renewed the hopes of many in the country of more than 100 million people whose development has been stifled by chronic corruption, which Francis railed about during his 2023 visit to the country.

Speaking at the Kinshasa stadium then, Francis said Kositi ''could easily have turned a blind eye; nobody would have found out, and he might even have gotten ahead as a result. But since he was a Christian, he prayed. He thought of others and he chose to be honest, saying no to the filth of corruption.''

Ordinary holiness in the ''saints next door''

The Italian priest who spearheaded Kositi's sainthood case, the Rev. Francesco Tedeschi, knew him through their work with the Saint'Egidio Community. He broke down Saturday as he recounted Kositi's example and Francis' call for the church to recognize the ordinary holiness in the ''saints next door.''

''In the end, this was what Floribert was, because he was just a boy,'' Tedeschi said as he began weeping.

On Sunday, worshippers gathered at the Saint Joseph Cathedral in Goma to follow Kositi's beatification ceremony live. Outside of the cathedral, some bought photos and cloth featuring his portrait.

Olive Njemba, a 65-year-old mother who was close to Kositi's family, was one of them.

''Those who killed him thought that it was the end of his life, but Almighty God raised him up, and that is our joy,'' Njemba said while wearing the commemorative cloth she just bought. ''For us mothers, we have great joy in buying this to celebrate our child who is now blessed.''

Inside the church, Abbé Célestin Kanyabiriri, head of the pastoral commission, made a brief speech ahead of the ceremony.

''This event is not only for Catholics — he is a model for all of us,'' Kanyabiriri said.

''The fact that he was chosen from our diocese, for me, is a sign that the Lord is inviting us to be apostles of honesty, apostles of moral integrity ... in order to fight against corruption — a cancer that has plagued our country from independence to today, especially starting from the very top of power,'' he added.

Seen as role model

At Goma's Floribert Bwana Chui School of Peace, which is named in honor of Kositi and advocates for social justice, his beatification is encouraging everyone who sees him as a role model, school director Charles Kalimba told The Associated Press.

''It's a lesson for every generation, for the next generation, for the present generation and for all people. Floribert's life is a positive point that must be presented to the Congolese nation. We are in a country where corruption is almost allowed, and this is a challenge that must be taken up,'' Kalimba said.

Tedeschi said the martyr designation recognized Kositi died out of hatred for the faith, because his decision to not accept the spoiled food was inspired by the Christian idea of the dignity of everyone, especially the poor.

Being declared a martyr exempts Kositi from the requirement that a miracle must be attributed to his intercession before he is beatified, thereby fast-tracking the process to get to the first step of sainthood. The Vatican must, however, confirm a miracle attributed to his intercession for him to be canonized, a process that can take years or more.

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Kambumba contributed from Goma, Congo, and Asadu from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Trisha Thomas and Isaia Montelione contributed from Rome.

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