Father Nazareno Lanciotti, an Italian missionary who served in Brazil for 30 years, was beatified on Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Jauru, Mato Grosso. The beatification Mass was presided over by Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, special envoy of Pope Leo XIV and prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life. During the celebration, the Pope’s apostolic letter was read, granting that the “venerable servant of God” be called Blessed and commemorated each year on January 12. A first-class relic and an image of the new Blessed were brought to the altar.
Born in Rome on March 3, 1940, and ordained a priest in 1966, Father Nazareno arrived in Brazil in 1971 and settled in Jauru, a border town with Bolivia. Cardinal Aviz highlighted his “particularly rich missionary life” rooted in the Eucharist and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In Jauru he founded Our Lady of the Pillar parish, created 57 rural ecclesial communities with daily Eucharistic adoration, opened a clinic, built a home for the elderly, founded a school for hundreds of children, and started a minor seminary. He also served as national director of the Marian Priestly Movement in Brazil.
The Cardinal said Blessed Nazareno’s strength came from the Gospel and drove him to serve the poor and fight injustices in the border region, including child exploitation, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. He was killed on February 22, 2001, at age 61, after being shot in the back of the head by hooded gunmen while dining at his home. Before dying, he forgave his killers. He was buried in the Church of Our Lady of the Pillar in Jauru.
The beatification process began in 2007 under then-Archbishop Mário Antônio da Silva of Cuiabá. On April 14, 2025, Pope Francis approved the decree recognizing Father Nazareno’s martyrdom. Bishop Jacy Diniz Rocha of São Luiz de Cáceres thanked Pope Leo XIV for the beatification, asking Blessed Nazareno to intercede “that we may be worthy to celebrate his memory.” Cardinal Aviz called him a “qualified witness to the Christian life” and a timely stimulus to revive Gospel values in a culture that often downplays them.