By Fr. Hubert Vonlanthen, Schoenstatt Federation of Priests, from Fribourg/Switzerland •
The heartfelt tribute to the recently deceased Kikí Quiroz by the editor, Ms. Maria Fischer, has moved me, Hubert Vonlanthen, member of the Schoenstatt Federation of Priests and priest in charge of the Shrine in Fribourg, Switzerland, and has prompted me to take up the “pen”. —
Thank you very much, Mrs. Fischer, for giving us such a vivid and fresh view of Kiki’s extraordinary personality through her personal correspondence.
My first encounter with Kiki and Guillermo
Kikí Quiroz and Guillermo Tagle, 2004
My personal relationship with the Quiroz-Tagle couple dates back to 1998. At that time I was fortunate to accompany the first couples of the Family Federation of the Schoenstatt Movement of Chile on a trip to the Holy Land and then spend almost ten months on sabbatical in Chile thanks to my friendship with Fr. Humberto Anwandter, of blessed memory (the first Chilean Schoenstatt Father ordained in Freiburg). Kiki and Guillermo participated, of course, because they were part of the first Schoenstatt groups in Chile.
The community welcomed me with great openness and friendship – also during the whole time I was in Chile. This is due, not least, to the fact that I come from Freiburg, the city that became a “second home” for the first generation of Chilean Schoenstatt Fathers during their philosophical and theological formation at the local university. Their presence and commitment were also the trigger for the construction of the Schoenstatt Shrine in our city in 1954, which they saw from the beginning as a bridge to the Bellavista Shrine in Santiago de Chile.
Kiki opened for me the doors of the Schoenstatt Family in Chile
At the beginning of my sabbatical in Santiago de Chile (in Campanario!), Kiki surprised me one day with the proposal to publish an article about my visit and my activities in the Schoenstatt magazine “Vinculo”. Naturally in relation to the “historic bridge Bellavista-Friburgo”, which had gained importance for the Chileans. This opened the doors and hearts of the Chilean Schoenstatt Family and gave me many unforgettable encounters and experiences.
As I have already said, I owe much of this to Kiki, who has taken care of me in a maternal and loving way since our pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Chilean Schoenstatt Family has become very close to my heart, and the objective of keeping alive the bridges between the two shrines and the stream of life that flows from them has been fulfilled.
A particularly touching moment with Kikí and Guillermo
Kikí and Guillermo Tagle, 2004
In 2002, I had the privilege of visiting Chile again. It was a great gift for me to be able to meet Kiki and Guillermo after their serious car accident and her wonderful recovery.
That night I wrote the following in my little travel journal: “The visit to Kiki and Guillermo was very warm… Above all, it filled me with a deep inner joy because God had given them a healing of almost one hundred percent. A healing that surpasses all medical possibilities, as the doctor confirmed. Undoubtedly, it will also play an important role in the beatification process of Mario Hiriart [it was the Tagle family’s wish that Mario H. be invoked in a special way so that the miracle of healing could take place through his intercession]. At the end of our meeting, Kiki sat down at the piano and gave a wonderful short concert as a thank you… with the hands that had had surgery and that she had no hope of ever being able to use properly to play the piano again!!!”.
Even today, I can barely contain the emotions that moved my heart that night. There is only one word to describe it: grace.
Kiki is certainly a living witness to the extent to which life from the covenant of love, from the shrine and from the identity-forming divine vocation (the personal ideal as an inner guiding star) keeps the “inner, new person” young, radiant and dynamic into old age. I think of the words of a 95-year-old Ursuline Sister from Freiburg, which so aptly apply to our dear departed Kiki: “We are on our way to eternal youth”.
Thank you God our heavenly Father, thank you God Jesus and our heavenly Mother Thrice Admirable, thank you Mario Hiriart, thank you Kiki – together with Guillermo – for your blessed work on earth and for your intercession from heaven.
P. Hubert Vonlanthen, member of the Schoenstatt Federation of Priests, Schmitten/Freiburg i. Ue. CH, on Covenant Day, February 18, 2024
Kikí and Guillermo Tagle
Original: german. Translation: Marcela Fernández, Toronto, Canada
