CHILE, Fr. Adrián González Ibarra. “Imitation is a rule of admiration,” These words closed the editorial written by Father Raul Hasbun in the July 2011 edition of the magazine, Vinculo and it begs the question- Who do we admire? And in this particular case the answer is Father Jorge Falch, a member of the Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests Institute, who died on June 1, 2011 in the San Jose priest’s house next to the Bellavista Cenacle Shrine.
Between January 9 -13, 2012, the twenty-four-member Institute for the South American Cone-Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Chile had a meeting along with one German seminarian from Mexico who “admired” and wanted to “imitate” the life, mission, person, and message of Father Falch, who had been our pioneer in Latin America, particularly in the Southern Cone. He had also been an “illustrious case” in what it meant to be a genuine diocesan Schoenstatt priest.
I want “always want to be prepared to live and die for the Founder and his Family”
Father Jorge was conscious of the fact that he had been sent as an “ambassador,” as a “pilgrim,” and co-founder by Father Kentenich. “Listen” to his account:
“On the advice of Father Kentenich, I took a trip to Chile for a pilgrimage to the important places and also to know the Milwaukee Family, Brooklyn, Puerto Rico, and Santo Domingo. During the week of May 26 to June 1, 1967 I was in Milwaukee.
At 5p.m., we tried to contact Father Kentenich but to no avail… at two in the morning we finally made contact with Father… I was very nervous about not knowing what to say to Father. He greeted me as “the treasure in the field” and congratulated us on our accomplishment.
Before leaving for New York at 5:40, I left the Exile Shrine with the intention to always to be prepared to live and die by the Founder and His Family.
These are my memories and notes from my first visit to Milwaukee.”
“Next Bellavista’s Holy ground”
So, as we said, we wanted to gather near the Bellavista Shrine, to gather in a family atmosphere and prayer for this meeting regarding our ideal and our mission, embodied in the life of P. Jorge Falch. Through the beautiful and profound testimonies from members of the Chilean family and our own community, we came to discover this “treasure in the field”, and now we have the task of putting this treasure at the service of the Church and our Schoenstatt family.
Translation: Melissa Janknegt, Elgin, USA
