Everywhere: Open letter to Father Joaquín Herrera Bayón, MSC

Our minds and hearts still cannot fully comprehend that you are returning to Spain. Amidst the pain and uncertainty, but with the respect your discernment deserves, we recognize that the Lord has shown you, his will. Therefore, we want to express a few words that spring from our hearts and from the sincerest appreciation we have for you, the fruit of so many years shared between dreams, plans, strategies, struggles, and joys of the soul, united under the same name: Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

It is true that, on some issues of opinion or vision, we did not always agree. However, the affection and appreciation never died. There were silences, yes, but the admiration never faded.

Today, the entire parish community—and anyone reading these lines—should know that we are experiencing a gray day, but also a bright one: a day of mixed feelings of sorrow and gratitude, of departure and hope. Life, as we well know, is that combination of emotions, of highs and lows, like the rhythms of the heart and the pages of history. We know that a long and fruitful stage of your missionary life is coming to an end, and that a new one is beginning, in the land where you were born and from where you left when you were so young, full of enthusiasm and dreams.

Today is Easter: there is death and there is life, there is farewell and there is hope.

And although you often avoid receiving praise, today it is your turn to hear it. Because we are in the presence of a man of flesh and blood, but also a witness of faith and consistency, and nothing we say is an exaggeration.

We bid farewell to the courageous missionary who one day decided to come to America when it was daring to do so; the one who ventured into the beloved and long-suffering Quiché, where the MSCs lovingly sowed the first seeds of the Gospel, leaving behind traces, projects, and even the blood of their best sons. You arrived with new vigor, with new energy, and with a renewed way of being Church. And since then, we have seen you act with conviction, intelligence, and deep spirituality.

Today we tip our hats to the authentic missionary, the one who in everything he did knew he was sent, a witness, and a servant.

We also bid farewell to the respectful parish priest, the serious and organized man who treated everyone with dignity. To the priest who listened, guided, shared with young and old, who knew how to joke with simplicity and approach with humility. To the discreet man who broke the ice with a fraternal greeting and who found in a conversation about soccer a bridge to reach the heart.

Today we thank the formator and teacher who sowed in many of us deep convictions about consecrated missionary life. You formed us with your witness, with solidity and depth. Several generations of MSC bear your mark: you taught us to love the Congregation and to live coherently every day. That sowing has borne fruit, and there are still harvests to come.

We also bid farewell to the superior and provincial who, together with other brothers of great value, worked with vision and determination to consolidate our religious family in these lands. Your leadership was key in the transition from Pro-Province to Province, and your mark is on the solid structures that sustain us today. Your gifts of organization and vision for the future marked every responsibility you assumed. You wanted to ensure that we were well grounded, faithful to the dream of Jules Chevalier, that 30-year-old who in 1854 gave life to this small but passionate missionary family.

We cannot forget the key man in the Cause for Beatification of our MSC martyrs of Quiché and other companions. The Province and the Church of Guatemala will always be grateful to you for your tireless work. The thoroughness with which you prepared the documentation was admirable, and the corrections in Rome were minimal: a clear sign of your dedication and care. Thanks to you and many others, today we proudly celebrate the memory of our witnesses.

Finally, we say goodbye to our companion on the journey, the exemplary missionary who was never a cause for scandal, but rather for respect and gratitude. You are leaving, but you leave us an immense legacy: that of a consistent, hard-working, faithful, and deeply human man.

We will continue to assimilate your return to Spain with nostalgia, but also with hope. Perhaps deep down you will repeat that phrase from the Gospel: “We are useless servants; we have only done what we ought to have done.”

And maybe you don’t like receiving so many compliments—we know but we feel the need to tell you all this.

We wish you all the best in this new stage of your life. You are leaving, but your legacy remains.

You remain in our memory, in our hearts, in this city of eternal spring, and in every corner of the Casa de El Tesoro.

You are leaving… but you are staying.
Farewell, brother.
Keep us in your prayers, as we will keep you in ours.

With fraternal affection,
The MSC Provincial Superior of Central America – Mexico and his Council