PORTUGAL, Lena Castro Valente. On January 13th at 5:30 p.m. (local time in Recifie, Brazil) our beloved Fr. Miguel Lencastre, a Portuguese Schoenstatt Father, departed for his new home at the age of 84.
It is hard to speak about Fr. Miguel because there so much to say!
Everything that can be said is only a pale reflection of Fr. Miguel Lencastre’s greatness as a person and a priest.
From a very tender age, it was clear that he was extraordinarily intelligent and his heart “was larger than the world”.
Perhaps this is why it was difficult for him to fit in with family traditions and religious values, which he rejected in his youth and succumbed to the temptations of the world.
At the age of thirty, without seeking or desiring it, he was unexpectedly captivated by the Blessed Mother during a youth outing to Lake Murten, Switzerland together with some Chilean students from the Pallottine Seminary in Fribourg.
This extraordinary conversion resulted in his generous and unreserved YES, which resulted in the founding of the Schoenstatt Movement in Portugal.
Fraternal Covenants
To speak about Father Miguel Lencastre is to speak about the apostle of the Fraternal Covenants.
He defined this as a network of love and friendship fostered by the supernatural spirit (because all love comes from God):
Among people from the same family: marital paternal, maternal, filial and fraternal love; among families; across generations; among colleagues or friends, members of the same religious or other community, among communities and movements, among families and priests.
This was an apostolic field that was close to his heart. It first emerged when he arrived at the Pallottine Seminary in Fribourg, Switzerland but he did not receive the support of his superiors because it was so unprecedented. This is why people from different cities and countries who often do not know each other personally find connections among themselves and with the Blessed Mother, but have Fr. Miguel as the common human bond.
Apostle of the Pilgrim MTA
To speak about Father Miguel Lencastre is to speak about a missionary who took the Pilgrim Mother to Alentejo, Portugal, where on September 9, 2000, our beloved Mother and Queen of Schoenstatt was crowned as QUEEN OF ALENTEJO, in Vila Vicosa, Shrine of Our Lady of the Conception, Patroness and Queen of Portugal.
Apostle of Northeastern Brazil
To speak about Fr. Miguel Lencastre is to speak about the apostle of the NEW EVANGELIZATION in northeastern Brazil and alma mater behind the founding of the shrine of Olinda.
To speak about Fr. Miguel Lencastre is to speak of the person who promoted the Men’s Rosary in Brazil.
To speak about Fr. Miguel Lencastre is to speak about a man who surrendered himself completely to Divine Providence.
To speak about Fr. Miguel Lencastre is to speak of a spiritual father and a great friend, whose departure from this earth leaves a huge void filled only by the certainty that he will intercede for us in heaven.
Thank you very much dear Fr. Miguel Lencastre! We will see you in heaven!
Spanish/English Translation: Celina M. Garza San Antonio, TX USA
