A FB post from Julio Cesar Avila Perlta referencing a book by Sister Maria Garcia O.S.F entitled “History of a Church That Has Lived Its Commitment to the Poor“
Julio Cesar Avila Perlta
What Was Father Casimiro Like?
Source: History of a Church That Has Lived Its Commitment to the Poor, Sister María García, O.S.F.
The young Father Casimiro came from a poor family in the United States. His entire being reflected great simplicity, which, in the short two years he spent in Olancho, won the affection of everyone who met him. He was a very joyful man and felt happy to be able to serve the simple and poor people of the Gualaco Parish and, later, in San Esteban. All of us who knew Father Casimiro could appreciate his character, as, in addition to his beautiful simplicity, he was a man full of kindness, very gentle, and compassionate. He was also very artistic, and there are people who still have some of his sculpted works.
He truly preached powerfully, more through his way of life than with words. He identified with the poor, with whom and for whom he worked, sharing their marginalized rural life. In the remote place of San Esteban, the parishioners are witnesses to Father Casimiro’s poor and simple life, truly Franciscan, as everyone knew his home, his food, his clothing, and the sacrifices he made traveling from one town to another. In his parish, there was still no organization. There was only one peasant league. He shared his life with those who had neither voice nor vote, and for them, he died. It can truly be said of him that he was “led to the slaughter like a lamb.”
Comments…
Martha Elena Rubí Hernández
The original version I remember is that he wasn’t even participating in the event that day. He arrived at the Peasant Cooperative to buy supplies for the Gualaco Educational Center and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. They took him without rhyme or reason, just like Bernardo Meza, who was the accountant, and that’s how it ended.
Juani Banegas Ramos
Martha Elena Rubí Hernández, it is truly a pity and unjust that a person like him and the others ended up that way. I pray to God that they are in His Heavenly Mansion.