Precious Blood Parish celebrated its 59th anniversary

His 59 years celebrated the Catholic community of the Preciosa Sangre parish with a Eucharist celebrated by Bishop Santiago Silva, accompanied by priests Nicanor Azúa, parish priest of the community, Alexander Bohorquez and deacon Pedro Montecinos.

The history of this parish began in 1962 in the Corvi population, which lived through the difficult days after the earthquake and there were many people who came to live in the sector, several of them in emergency housing and poverty was felt and seen much more.

The then Bishop José Manuel Santos asked the Congregation of the Fathers of the Precious Blood to come to Valdivia to carry out their mission.

It was some North American priests from the Congregation of the Precious Blood who came to settle in the sector. People saw some tall gringos who spoke Spanish poorly, but who welcomed them with joy. Those gringos were not ashamed to roll up their sleeves and work like any neighbor in whatever it was and thus, little by little, they gained the affection of the community.

The first parish was a tent and masses were held there. The neighbors also met in the houses and there they prayed the Rosary or held their meetings living their faith and giving each other hope in hard times.

It was on July 1963 that the Precious Blood parish was created, the day of this Catholic religious festival and whose devotion was promulgated by the Italian missionary San Gaspar del Búfalo in the 19th century.

Only in the seventies was a temple built, after years of living the Eucharist in the famous tent.

One of the first “gringo” priests to arrive was Father Paul Aumen, but Fathers Ricardo Beischel, Juan Falter, Thomas Hemm, Israel de la Fuente, Miguel Ángel Soto, Mauricio Álvarez and now Nicanor Azúa also left their mark.

The parish stands out for being the nerve center of one of the largest Catholic movements in Valdivia, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, which arrived in the seventies and gave parishioners a renewed spirituality around the Holy Trinity and the person of the Holy Spirit. Holy acting in the midst of the people of God.

Parish priest

Nicanor Azúa is the current parish priest of this community. He is already known, since he had previously been its pastor and also parish priest of the Cristo Rey parish in the Teniente Merino population.

“Here there is a different plus with the Charismatic Renewal that came to Valdivia with Father Juan Falter, a missionary who spread it especially in this parish and with an emphasis on the blood of Jesus,” said Azúa.

“When the first missionaries arrived, apart from housing the people after the earthquake, the spiritual part was handed over and at first it was a tent that was attended by gringo priests and they try from their way of being to encourage people, they passed thunderbolts or cinema for children and thus encouraged people in difficult times “recalled the priest.

Nicanor Azúa explained that the congregation has its spirituality around the passion of Jesus and the shedding of his blood.

“The experience of the spirituality of blood is the open chalice, which contains and offers itself, that is why as a parish we are called to be chalices to contain the blood today that is violence and injustice and offer it to the Lord. It is a way of life. As the Bishop said, it is the spirituality of spiritualities that liberates and heals”, reflected Azúa.

At the mass, Bishop Santiago Silva highlighted the community and urged the parishioners to continue living their spirituality in Valdivia.

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