Franciscan sisters to present Peruvian bishop's legacy at Rome conference

The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception will hold a conference on Monday, October 26, at the Instituto Máximo in Rome on the Servant of God Fray Alfonso María de la Cruz Sardinas y Zavala. The aim is to make his spiritual and pastoral legacy better known. The event, titled "Missionary of a disarmed and disarming peace in 19th-century Peru," will center on sharing and reflecting on the pastoral letters of the Franciscan priest, who was the second bishop of the Diocese of Huánuco in central Peru.

Life and formation in the Franciscan order

Fray Alfonso María was born in Huánuco in 1842 and entered the Franciscan convent of Ocopa in 1857, at just 15, drawn by the plain and detached life of the missionaries there. He was formed as a man of prayer, made his solemn vows in 1862 and was ordained a priest in 1867. He learned Quechua so he could preach the Gospel across the country, and he shared his own poverty with the poorest.

Missionary travels

Rather than stay in one convent, he carried his missionary work to many towns in central Peru: Huancayo, Jauja, Lima, Ica, Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Huánuco. He preached with eloquence and lived an austere, humble and fraternal life, reaching communities by donkey or on foot to administer the sacraments and care for the poor. He gave himself to hearing confessions, leading spiritual exercises and preaching parish missions.

Sister Karina Gonzales Risco, vice-postulator of the cause, said Alfonso María is regarded as the pioneer of education for peace in 19th-century Peru and a model missionary for his austere Franciscan life, his itinerant evangelization and his work in education.

Founding the congregation and final years

The congregation he founded grew out of a personal experience. While staying in Sayán, he was cured of a serious illness through the intercession of Mary Immaculate. On December 6, 1883, he founded the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, devoted to education and works of charity.

Gonzales Risco also described his last days. A sore on his leg left him unable to walk, and he had himself carried in a kind of cart to the Blessed Sacrament to pray, making that confinement his new form of mission. He died in 1902, remembered as a "humble, austere Franciscan, a missionary, an exemplary priest and a watchful pastor."

The beatification cause of the Servant of God Alfonso María remains open.