Rudolf Lunkenbein
German Salesian missionary killed defending Bororo land in Mato Grosso
Who they were
Father Rudolf Lunkenbein was shot dead at the Meruri mission in Mato Grosso on 15 July 1976 alongside the Bororo layman Simão Cristino Koge Kudugodu, while defending the demarcation of indigenous land.
The miracles
No miracle has been approved. The cause is at its first stage.
Why that counted as sanctity
The petition to open the inquiry into their martyrdom was presented to the bishop of Barra do Garças on 15 November 2016, the Holy See gave the nihil obstat on 7 September 2017, and the diocesan inquiry ran from 2018 to 2020. The martyrdom decree has not been promulgated, so he remains a Servant of God.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Checked against the sources listed on 24 September 2026. Corrections welcome.