 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Spanish. (May 2024)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Bishop of Pasto | |
| Born | (1848-04-09)9 April 1848 Alfaro,La Rioja, Spain |
| Died | 19 August 1906(1906-08-19) (aged 58) Montegudo,Navarra, Spain |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 1 November 1975 byPope Paul VI[1] |
| Canonized | 11 October 1992[2],Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic byPope John Paul II |
| Feast | 19 August |
| Patronage | Cancer, Sto. Niño De Molino Parish Church - Bacoor, Immaculate Conception Cathedral Parish - Puerto Princesa Palawan, Recoletos Community |
Ezequiél Moreno y DíazOAR was aSpanish Catholic prelate who served asBishop of Pasto from 1895 to 1906. He was a member of theOrder of Augustinian Recollects and previously served as a missionary to thePhilippines and asVicar Apostolic of Casanare inColombia.
Moreno was canonized in 1992 and is popularly invoked as thepatron saint of cancer patients.
Born April 9, 1848[3] in the city ofAlfaro, La Rioja, Spain to Félix Moreno and María Josefa Díaz, he was the third of six children. His father was a tailor. His nephew Julián Moreno is venerated as aBlessed because of his martyrdom inMotril. Ezequiel served as an altar boy for the Dominican nuns and developed a devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary.
Following the example of his older brother, Moreno entered theRecoletos inMonteagudo,Navarra,Spain on September 21, 1864 taking the name Fray Ezequiel Moreno de la Virgen del Rosario. Later, he made his solemn vow in Marcialla (also inNavarra) on September 22, 1865.[4]
The monastery in Monteagudo was known for dispatching missionaries to both the Americas and thePhilippines. On October 14, 1869 he embarked fromCádiz arriving in Manila on February 10, 1870.[5]
In the middle that year, Moreno sailed on to theVisayan town ofJaro,Iloilo where he received and finished hisminor orders. A year later, he returned to Manila to receive hissacerdotal orders[3] from theArchbishop of Manila, Gregorio Melitón Martínez (The same prelate who defended the martyred priestsGomburza by siding with them over the Spanish Governor-General). He was ordained a priest on June 3, 1871. Today, the letter of the archbishop informing him of his sacerdotal ordination is one of the best-preserved manuscripts from the period.After ordination, he was immediately sent to his first mission inCalapan, Oriental Mindoro. There, he became proficient inTagalog that at hiscanonisation,Filipino Catholics remarked that the language is now "a language of thesaints."
About two years after his arrival in the colony, he was sent, along with his brother Eustaquio, to the island ofPalawan, where he undertook the task of beingMilitary Chaplain to apenal colony, nowIwahig Prison and Penal Farm, inPuerto Princesa City. He was among the founders of the town ofAborlan, Palawan and Barangay Inagawan inPuerto Princesa. Moreno was struck bymalaria, which forced him to return to Manila.[4]
When he recovered from the disease, he was put in charge of a mission in Calapan.[5] Though only 28 years old, both the Archbishop of Manila and hisRecollectPrior assigned him asVicar Forane ofMindoro.
In May 1876, he was transferred to what is nowLas Piñas and worked zealously for the development of the lives of the people in the area. During the three years that Ezequiel Moreno remained in this mission, he went through an epidemic, a drought and a fire, to which he responded with care to the sick and helping those left in extreme poverty with money, rice and clothing.[5] This saintly way of life that he exemplified caused the people of Las Piñas to oppose his transfer toSanto Tomás,Batangas.
The appeal, as strong as it was, was not successful and Moreno was transferred to Santo Tomás. However, he was recalled to Manila because he was appointed General Preacher of theOrder of Augustinian Recollects. The people of Santo Tomas also made an appeal to suspend the order but just as in Las Piñas, their request was not granted. He assumed the post in October 1880 and as Preacher General, was assignedparish priest ofSanta Cruz Church, assuming the post in February 1881.[5]
A year later, he was assigned to take charge of the Recollecthacienda in the towns ofImus[4] andBacoor inCavite. During his stay, the towns were struck bycholera and the priest worked hard to administer theLast Rites to as many of the faithful as possible that of the 3,200 victims, only three died without receiving the Last Rites.
He was elected Superior of the Seminary in Monteagudo, Navarra, Spain, in 1885.[6] Through this post, Moreno imparted his missionary zeal to many missionaries to the Americas and the Philippines.
It was in 1888 that he once more crossed the Atlantic Ocean and became the head of the Recollect mission inColombia. He served as Vicar apostolic ofCasanare and was named bishop of Pinara, Colombia on October 23, 1893. He became Bishop ofPasto, Colombia on December 2, 1893. He was noted for his generous charity to the faithful of his diocese and encouraged the practice of the Rosary of the Dawn.[7]
As most of the Colombian Church hierarchy, Ezequiel Moreno aligned himself with theColombian Conservative Party. During theThousand Days War, he used his writings and preaching sermons to attack theColombian Liberal Party. He expressed in his pastoral letters, the defense of what he believed in, with the purpose of making clear the commitments of a Catholic, above political affiliations. His statement, “liberalism is a sin,” may have been the most controversial.[6]
