Ceferino Namuncurá was born on August 26, 1886, in Chimpay, Argentina, as the eighth of twelve children to Rosario Burgos and Manuel Namuncurá, the Mapuche chief of the Araucanian-speaking Indigenous people of the Argentine Pampas. In 1897, at the age of eleven, Ceferino was sent to Buenos Aires to study at the Colegio Pío IX, a technical academy run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. There, he developed a deep admiration for Don Bosco and excelled in his studies, particularly in music, becoming a member of the choir.

In 1904, to further his education and pursue the priesthood, Ceferino traveled to Italy with Archbishop Giovanni Cagliero, a former disciple of Don Bosco. They were received by Pope Pius X in September of that year. Ceferino continued his studies at the Salesian College "Villa Sora" in Frascati, near Rome. Unfortunately, the Italian winter adversely affected his already delicate health, and he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. Despite medical attention, he passed away on May 11, 1905, at the Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome.

Ceferino's remains were repatriated to Argentina in 1924 and placed in the chapel at Fortín Mercedes, Buenos Aires Province. In 1945, the process for his beatification commenced, and on June 22, 1972, Pope Paul VI declared him venerable, making him the first South American Indigenous person to receive this recognition. On November 11, 2007, he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI.