AMERICA/ECUADOR - Spanish missionary in Ecuador turns 100 on World Mission Day

Los Rios (Agenzia Fides) - His Exc. Mgr. Bittor Garaygordobil, Bishop Emeritus of Los Ríos (Ecuador), one of the first eight missionary priests of the Basque dioceses of Spain, on October 17 turns 100 on the eve of World Mission Day. He was ordained a priest in 1943, and was sent to the parish of San Pedro de Deusto (Bilbao), and a few years later left for Ecuador as a missionary, where he remained for 34 years.
Until then the missions were entrusted to religious orders or institutes. The thriving atmosphere of religious and priestly vocations of the Basque dioceses was the perfect breeding ground for the evangelizing spirit of the young priests who wanted to leave to evangelize mission lands. Two countries were chosen: Ecuador and Angola.
According to information sent to Fides, the first two missionaries of a group of eight left Madrid on October 12, 1948. The centenary of the birth of Mgr. Bittor Garaygordobil is not just a birthday celebration but also an authentic missionary feast.
Ordained a Bishop in 1964, Mgr. Garaygordobil participated in the Second Vatican Council and worked together with other Latin American Bishops such as Mgr. Leonidas Proaño. Among the topics discussed as a professor and as a missionary is the relationship between economics and the following of Jesus, and the responsibility of all those who share a radically unjust and violent financial system. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 15/10/2015)

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