Argentina: On the anniversary of his death, cardinal remembers that Blessed Esquiú was a pilgrim of hope

On the 142nd anniversary of the death of Blessed Fray Mamerto Esquiú, a reflection by the Archbishop of Córdoba, Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, defines him as a “pilgrim of hope”, the call that Pope Francis makes to us for this Jubilee Year.

The reflection, which is in turn a profile of the Franciscan friar who was Bishop of Córdoba at the end of the 19th century, was spread through the official Instagram account of the blessed.

There, Cardinal Rossi assured that the motto of the Jubilee 2025 fits “just right, tailored” to Blessed Fray Mamerto Esquiú.

“John Paul II defined us as homo viatorthat is, ‘the man who walks’, and stated that hope is the virtue of the man who walks. Fray Mamerto Esquiú was clearly that: a pilgrim,” he stated.

“First of all, by the ways of this world. Catamarca, Tarija, Peru, Ecuador, the Holy Land, Rome, Córdoba,” he lists, and considers interesting the fact that “Esquiú died as he lived: he lived walking, he died on the way, returning from La Rioja.”

“Pilgrim of the paths of this world and pilgrim of that other path, certainly deeper, more sinuous, which is the path of the heart,” the cardinal deepened.

“A heart, that of the blessed, that was clear where to go. Firstly, towards the Lord, and on the other hand, the heart of the wise man – Fray Mamerto Esquiú will say – is in the house of mourning, in the house of those who cry, there we must be present, towards there we must head, where the poor are,” he recalled.

Cardinal Rossi then delved into some anecdotes from Esquiú’s time as Bishop of Córdoba: “In the afternoon, one of the witnesses said, he used to go out into the street to visit a community and sit in the confessional or talk to people, or with the priests He went on foot, never in a carriage. And if he went to a distant point he took a tram, sitting next to a child or a worker, with whom he spoke with complete familiarity.

“Often, the first patio of the house and part of the street was occupied by a crowd of poor people who went to beg for alms, and the bishop went out to distribute it in person. But since there were so many poor people, he often ran out of money to give them, so he sent for bread that he distributed himself, ensuring that no one left empty-handed, and this collective alms took up entire hours,” he explained.

Finally, he shared the anecdote “of a foreigner who was passing through Córdoba and asked what there was in this city that deserved to be known, and they answered: If you get to know the Bishop of Córdoba, you will know the best that this city has.”

“When he asked where the bishop lived, they replied: walk the streets, and in that house where you see a crowd of poor and needy people entering or leaving, that is the bishop’s house.”

Who was Fray Mamerto Esquiú?

Mamerto de la Ascensión Esquiú was born in Piedra Blanca, Catamarca, on May 11, 1826. At the age of 5, following a promise in which she prayed for the child’s health, his mother dressed him in the Franciscan habit.

He joined the Friars Minor of the Province of the Assumption in 1841 in Argentina. His priesthood was characterized by a firm and clear preaching, a virtue that made him a protagonist during the creation of the Argentine Federal State with his calls for peace, brotherhood and civil collaboration in the approval of the National Constitution.

In the political sphere, he was a deputy and member of the Government Council of Catamarca.

His Franciscan life continued in a mission convent in Tarija, Bolivia, and in 1870 he was proposed to be Bishop of Buenos Aires, a position for which he was considered unworthy. It was then that he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Rome and Assisi.

In 1879 he was appointed Archbishop of Córdoba, with an episcopal ministry focused on works in favor of the poorest.

He toured different towns and places in the diocese, bringing his presence and the sacraments. He died in full activity, at the “El Suncho” post, Catamarca, on January 10, 1883.

Fray Mamerto Esquiú was beatified on September 4, 2021 in Catamarca by Cardinal Luis Héctor Villalba, Archbishop Emeritus of Tucumán and legate of Pope Francis for this event.