The Feast of St. Ezekiel Moreno, the first Augustinian Recollect saint, is being celebrated today in a special way in Monteagudo (Navarra).
There, a hundred pilgrims -some of them coming from La Rioja and Toledo- gathered with the members of the Augustinian Recollect community, which is also the seat of one of the novitiates of the Order.
The Prior of the community of Monteagudo, Fr. Francisco Javier Jiménezexplained that the day began with a solemn mass followed by an aperitif.
Similarly, that this commemoration is part of the festivities held in the town in honor of the Virgen del Camino andSan Roque: It is a day full of encounters, not only with the local community, but also with priests and friars who have come from distant places.
It is a day of great importance and the atmosphere is one of great joy, faith and devotion.
Likewise, the Prior stressed that St. Ezekiel lived with suffering, but with great peace, his illness -a tumor of the mouth and palate- and that he is a symbol of strength for those who face cancer.
The dedication with which the saint lived this circumstance has attracted many pilgrims today to the small town of Navarre.
Rafa’s testimony: “I put myself in His hands and trusted Him”.
Among them, Rafa Ollaquindia, a 59-year-old family man who was diagnosed with an aggressive thyroid cancer three years ago, in 2021.
He says that his life and that of his family took an unexpected turn at that time, but that faith has been a fundamental pillar for him: ” I have always been a believer, but the disease has made me deepen my faith. but the illness has made me deepen my relationship with Jesus. .
Desde el primer momento me puse en Sus manos y confié en Él .
“It is not my strength, but God’s.”
He adds that a year ago I learned that there was a patron saint of cancer patients, here in Navarra, precisely… because I am from Marcilla. I decided to make a pilgrimage between my town and Monteagudo, passing through Alfaro.where St. Ezekiel was born, to ask for his intercession.
This year I returned to the monastery with my wife.
He acknowledges that the disease has placed him in a difficult situation, but that he now feels very well: Every day I go running and participate in marathons.
I continue to make pilgrimages to different shrines.
God gives me the strength to go on.
I feel happier than ever, without pain, living a normal life, thankful for every day. .
Además, apunta con humildad que yo no soy el protagonista, todo es por el Señor. It is not my strength, but God’s strength.
Now I think about the day to day, not the future.
Tour of Montegudo: “Seeing the Virgin constantly”.
In this regard, Fr.
Javier highlights how St. Ezekiel faced his illness and why he should be a support for the sick: When he was diagnosed with the tumor, he wanted to die in Colombia, but his fellow priests encouraged him to seek treatment in Barcelona.
However, when he arrived in Spain he had to undergo emergency surgery in Madrid and could not be operated on in the Catalan city.
The intervention was unsuccessful, so he assumed that he was nearing the end of his days: His only obsession was to return to Monteagudo to spend his last days near the Virgen del Camino.
He insisted that his room have a grandstand so that he could to see Our Lady constantly and participate in the masses from a distance.
“For many it may help them recover, but for all it will give comfort, hope and meaning to their suffering.
The prior insists that san Ezekiel can be a great comfort to the sick and a source of hope for those facing this disease.
It’s a pity that people don’t know him. He is a friend who also went through this process: the operations, the ‘chemo’… He, better than anyone, can understand them, accompany them and bring them love and hope. For many it may help them to recover, but for all it will give comfort, hope and meaning to their suffering.
About St. Ezekiel Moreno
Ezequiel Moreno y DÃaz was born in the Riojan town of Alfaro on April 9, 1848.
He followed the example of his older brother, Eustaquio, and entered the Monastery of Monteagudo on September 21, 1864.
The following year, on September 22, he made his religious profession.
He was sent to the Philippines where he completed his formation and was ordained a priest in Manila on June 3, 1871.
In the Asian country he developed an important evangelizing work that was only interrupted by the fact that he contracted malaria.
In 1888 he returned to the Monteagudo friary as Prior, where he also gave witness to an enormous charity towards beggars and the homeless.
Three years later, he was assigned as a missionary to Colombia.
There he was appointed apostolic vicar of Casanare and consecrated bishop of Pinara in 1894 and of Pasto two years later.
In that region, he developed an enormous missionary work, for which he is considered one of the greatest apostles of evangelization in Latin America and the Philippines.
In addition, he had to exercise his ecclesiastical duties in a time of enormous political upheaval.
Sick with cancer, and at the request of his brothers, he returned to Spain where he underwent several surgeries that he endured with fortitude.
He died in Monteagudo on August 19, 1906, at the age of fifty-eight.
He was beatified in 1975 by Pope Paul VI.
John Paul II canonized him in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) on October 11, 1992, during the closing of the V Centenary of the evangelization of Latin America.