The joy of celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of our Father and Founder

Paco Wellikin, MSC. MSC Ecuador Section, a testament to our shared history and unity, was formed between the MSC Brothers from Ecuador, Brazil, and Indonesia. We are a diverse international community, working in five parishes and with one formation house in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Our journey in Ecuador, a country where our Father Founder desired a permanent mission, began on the 10th of May 1887. Despite the challenges, including political conditions at that time, we had to leave Ecuador in 1894. However, in 1996, the provinces of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, and Curitiba initiated the process of returning the congregation to Ecuador, a process we continue to maintain with the support of the province of Indonesia. This shared history and experience form the backdrop for our reflection and preparation for the 200th anniversary of the birth of our founding father, a milestone we will celebrate on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7, 2024.

7th of April. Early in the morning, the parish San José de Chilibulo and its parish priest, Fr. Marcelo, were already on their way from Quito to Chimborazo, the central part of the country. The parish of El Buen Pastor, another parish also in Quito, left a little late with their parochial vicar Fr Gabriel. The parish of Santo Domingo d Guzmán, Chunchi (also in the province of Chimborazo) left the parish at 8 am and made a caravan with ten small cars and six buses, a group of more than 250 people; you feel the atmosphere of the Feast and can see the happy faces of each person, the joy of meeting and thanksgiving.
Almost at 10 o’clock, the caravan from Chunchi arrived with the sound of the horns of the buses and were welcomed by the parish of Chilibulo who are already at the entrance to the parish of Palmira, Sanctuary of the Señor de las Misericordias, the place of the event. Some people from the parish of Palmira and Tixan are already present. Mr. Carlos Zapata, one of the MSC laypeople from Quito, is already ready with a microphone in hand to animate. Marcelo is organising the altar boys from his parish to participate in the procession. The image of Fr. Jules Chevalier, a large heart, image of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is already prepared in the front row of the procession by the MSC laity. Then the images of the patron saints of the parishes. At 10 am, we start the procession with prayer to the mother (Ave Maria) and singing. Everyone participates in a festive and solemn atmosphere.
We arrived in front of Santuario Señor de las Misericordia, Palmira parish, and other groups of pilgrims from other places such as Cañar, Tambo, Suscal (these are the places in the south of Ecuador that always visit the sanctuary). As parish priest, Ricardo has already prepared a space for the celebration with chairs, an atrium of the church for the altar and a place for the patron saints of each parish or participating groups. Carlos Zapata and Maritza, the two MSC lay people, animate and guide the celebration with the monitions interspersed with keywords from Fr Julio Chevalier. Later, during the offering, we also presented a logo, a large heart with the letters MSC.
P. Ricardo, as section superior, asked Fr Paco Wellikin msc to preside over the mass, accompanied by the MSC brothers: Fr Marcelo Campoverde, msc, Fr Jose Bak Rahaubun, msc, Fr Gabriel Peñavicente, msc and Fr Ricardo Senduk, msc. The readings were distributed among the parishes; a group of young people from the parish of Chilibulo presented the bible while the community prayers were distributed among the groups. The presentation of the offering by Maria Mercedes, lay MSC. Paco shared in his homily that the cross and then the resurrection of Jesus teaches us the extreme love of the Father who gave his Son, and from his heart comes out blood and water that pours out to humanity his love, his mercy, his compassion, his forgiveness and his peace that is necessary to heal our fraternity (motto of the international congress of the Eucharist that will be held in Quito, September 2024) and the world. From there, we can learn and be merciful as a Father. Thanks to Saint Faustina, who makes us remember and live again, as today, on this Sunday, we dedicate our time to reflect on divine mercy.
The heart of our Father’s mercy is his Sacred Heart, and we are blessed that Ecuador is celebrating 150 years (25 March 2024) of its consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We owe this great gift, this devotion, this spirituality to Julio, our Father Founder, who left us this legacy that helps us to live as brothers, as a Chevalier family. Today, we mark the end of the process of living and reflecting on his 200 years of birth, but our journey is far from over. We must continue to be missionaries and a Chevalier family, sharing the richness of the Father’s Heart, building fraternity, and healing the world.
We ended the Holy Eucharist with the shout, “Long live Father Julio Chevalier, long live missionaries of the Sacred Heart, long live the Chevalier family”. The parish of Chilibulo and its young people presented some typical Ecuadorian dances. In contrast, the laity and the MSC youth group presented a play about Father Julio Chevalier to close the meeting. Undoubtedly, there are still some things to organise better, but sharing the joy with the parishioners of our parishes and the pilgrims who came is part of sharing our life, spirituality and the Sacred Heart of the Father to others.