What if Father Querbes

was living in your

country today?
Viator Web No.68 December 2015
Luis lvarez Torres,
General Treasurer

THE CHARISM OF LOUIS QUERBES

AND THE DIFFERENT CULTURES OF THE CONGREGATION

When we speak about the charism of our Founder, Father Louis Querbes, about our
charism, I think that we restrict ourselves to the general concept, which is not concrete
or well-defined, something with which all of us are familiar but which would cause us
difficulties if we had to talk about it for five minutes.
The same thing happens when we say that we thank God for the gift of life, but without
going any further, without visualizing that rosary of a thousand episodes that happen in
the life of each person: the sun that brightens the morning, the fresh water that flows
from the faucet, good health, demonstrations of affection, satisfaction with things that
are well done, daily joys and sorrows.
We know that charisms, whether they be extraordinary or simple and humble, are graces
of the Holy Spirit that have an ecclesial usefulness and that are ordered to the building
up of the Church, to the good of people, and to the needs of the world. And the specific
charism of each Religious Institute is the concrete expression of that general concept.

For that reason, when I visited certain Foundations (Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Colombia, and
Honduras), I wondered how Father Querbes would have acted in those places, how he would
have directed his attention to those nations yet to be founded. Based upon what Father Querbes
might have founded fifty or one hundred years ago, what would those communities look like
today?
Putting it another way, I asked myself how to respond to expressions such as: Africanizing the
Querbesian charism or responding to the spirit of Aparecida. Knowing him by what he said,
wrote, and did, how would Father Querbes have acted when establishing a foundation in Haiti or
in Peru?
I have the impression that our communities in the Foundations are a rather mimetic reflection of
the traditions, cultures, and customs of our founding communities from Europe and North America.
It appears that they were never deeply imbued with native cultures and traditions.
How can such a deeply-rooted custom as spreading the news be integrated, in an
institutionalized manner, into African communities? Might certain parts of community prayers
be said in better-known local languages rather than in French? How can lay people be incorporated
into our mission and lives from the viewpoint of our Founder, who strove to assure the unity of
the entire People of God, with each person having his/her own specific vocation?
We have asked some of our brothers and sisters to reflect personally on those very questions. As
we present them to you in the following pages, we would like to offer to those who responded
our heartfelt gratitude for their collaboration.

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The Viatorian Charism

in the Colombian Context of Today
Jhobany Orduz Duarte,
Colombian Religious

As Viatorians, we observe the reality that surrounds us and, following the example of Father Querbes, we
ask ourselves questions about that reality and pray that we will be able to discern what our function is in a
global and modern society in which many situations question us about our vocation and our charism.
In Colombia, in rural areas as well as in cities, children and young people have access to a free education
as a specific strategy of the government to bring about intellectual equilibrium. The question about our
charism in Colombia would, in reality, be the same that Father Querbes saw in his day and age.
Those realities would certainly include faith formation, from a viewpoint in which communication media
and expressions of freedom of thought bring it about that there are different needs; Colombian society is
supported by values of civic culture, of mutual concern, of sincere affection, and of generating customs of
respect for ourselves and for our role in society.
The anything goes cultural reality is far removed from the teachings of the Gospel, which speaks to us of
love of God and of our brothers and sisters. Internal conflicts have led people to harbor hatred and resentment
in their hearts and to be unyielding with respect to the needs of others.
I believe that Father Querbes would discover today the need to find a world that is more just and that
affords greater possibilities for everyone. He would take the first steps to improve faith formation by
integrating the strengthening of Christian values that are genuinely lived out in our years as children, young
people, and adults.
In a context where parents must provide Christian example for their children, teaching them to be citizens
after the example of Jesus, the charism of the community must continue growing, must continue being part
of our world and of the people in it, and must continue being present in the real needs of our world. The
community supports continuing education and takes positive steps that permit believing men and women
to live out our charism, following a new path that complements the work that has been done since earliest
childhood, offering a structured life plan that makes it possible for people to channel their lives of faith,
strengthening service to the liturgy with a sense of being closer to the people and to the needs of presentday society.
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Once upon a time, there was a Burkina Faso man of faith

Craphin Ouedraogo,
Burkina Faso Religious

Once upon a time, there was a man of faith from a land-locked Saharan country situated in the heart of
West Africa and covering an area of 105,869 square miles, in the midst of which coexisted some sixteen
million persons divided up into sixty different ethnic groups. It was within that African country that an
important man of faith and of service was born. Inspired by both Gospel and ancestral values, fifty-year-old
Father Louis Querbesanou had been serving for several years at the Wendemi Parish as its pastor. Present
in the heart of his parish, he shared in the joys, expectations, sufferings, fears, and hopes of the People of
God.
Yes, closing ones eyes to what is oppressing ones neighbors is definitely not a sign of love. Having
experienced the August Revolution and having a heart fortified with great pastoral values, he knows how
to avoid childish commiserations, those lamentations that one hears all around, making Burkina Faso people
victims of colonization, of the Negro slave trade, of climatic disasters, of virtual imprisonment, of the
lowest levels of poverty, and of a litany of deficits. Yes, no one can deny any of those facts, which certainly
affected the evolutionary curve of this country and its people of integrity. But, in spite of all that, Father
Querbesanou quickly came to the realization that, with Christ, the future remained open and that even the
most disastrous of situations could be transformed into moments of grace. So there is no reason to be
constricted by the fatalness of history.
Yes, only the spirit, if it blows over the clay, can create a human being. But, what exactly is that Burkina
Faso clay perceived by Father Querbesanou? Peoples of every nation are familiar with their revolutions and,
in fact, the last and the most memorable revolution experienced by the people of Burkina Faso is the one
that occurred in 1983. That awakening of people to their own destiny, that process of self-acceptance with
1

Wendemi in a local Burkina Faso language means God knows.

The August 1983 Revolution marked a turning point in the history of the people of Burkina Faso, who seized greater
control of their destiny under the inspiration of various revolutionary leaders, most notably Captain Thomas Sankara.
3
Antoine de Saint-Exupry, The Land of Humans, Gallimard Publishers, 1939, page 218.
2

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a view to greater well-being, since people are good with others to the extent that they are good with
themselves, and that precious return of people to their roots all of that, unfortunately, was scuttled from
the onset by self-centered political interests. Young people, who represent more than sixty percent of the
population of Burkina Faso, have been denied much by the State, which, through demagogic discourses,
has proven itself to be a useless provider. For a large number of young people who are illiterate or whose
educations have been cut short, disenchantment and a loss of values and of any sense of lifes meaning
remain the bitter fruit of a rural exodus. For young graduates, the hope of finding work and having a better
future is quashed daily by a system of glass ceilings: the invisible barricades of the political parties and of
different clans are long-lived. Having lost hope, many young people, thirsting for a legitimate quality of life,
blindly migrate to gold-mining areas, either to dig holes or to pan rocks or to sell water or drugs or sex
getting involved in a dark and difficult universe from which no one escapes unharmed. Yes, it is that clay of
the young people in the Wendemi Parish that Father Querbesanou sees evolving from year to year. And
when he rises up against that which is unacceptable, many of his parishioners are content to say to him,
with a hint of fatalism, of defeatism: Father, theres nothing that we can do about it. Thats how things are
here. But this too shall pass. Yes, this too shall pass, this too shall pass, people say over and over again
in this parish, until such time, perhaps, that a spirit of helplessness settles in.
No, Father Querbesanou could no longer tolerate that injustice. In his prayers, he asked the Master of Time
and of Human History to inspire him with a plan to save the young people of his parish. God, who does not
resist the supplications of his servants, answered him immediately. And, contrary to certain politicians,
when God speaks, God also provides the means. In record time, a Catholic association consisting of committed
Christians came to birth. Men and women of good will, in union with their pastor, rallied around the cause
of abandoned young people and conceived of a multi-faceted program:
In an ecclesial context that does not make much provision for the ongoing formation of young people, who
are the preferred targets of different sects, a center was created specifically to provide space for activities
that would reinforce young peoples knowledge of their Christian faith and respond to their burning questions.
In a social context interwoven with conflicts, violence, injury, hatred, and rancor, young people become
disoriented: therefore, it is important to equip young people with a framework for introspection and
verbalization, for accompaniment and interior healing so as to provide them with increased resilience and
a brotherly/sisterly acceptance of others who are different and complementary. In order to do that, it will be
necessary to have beneficial contributions from legal experts, psychologists, and social educators.
And that is how the charism of Father Querbesanou came to birth and was developed in the Wendemi
Parish in order that Jesus might be adored and loved and that people might be able to stand on their own.

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The Plan of Father Louis Querbes,

a need that has been developing in the lives of the Haitian
people for the last fifty years.
Pierre-Louis Joseph,
Haitian Religious

The needs of young people in Haiti are not greatly different from the needs of young people in Lyons at the
time of Father Louis Querbes. In a society in which young people are left to themselves, such a plan to
accompany them on the educational, social, and religious levels appeared to be of absolute necessity at
the moment when the first Viatorian Canadian missionaries stepped foot upon Haitian soil. Since the arrival
of the Clerics of Saint Viator in this beautiful, friendly, sun-drenched country in the year 1965, many
generations have been able to benefit within the framework of the Qubec missionaries, who quickly became
involved in the catechetical training, education, and liturgical leadership of our people, be it in Port-auPrince or in Dondon, on the outskirts of Cap Haitien.
Today, the Foundation of Haiti has at least four major apostolic ministries. Through these different ministries
that we direct (certain of which we have directed for almost fifty years) Immaculate Conception School in
Gonaves, Saint Mark, Grand-Gove, and Croix-des-Bouquets we have received many testimonies that
encourage us to continue moving forward. Viatorians provide a quality education to the young people
entrusted to their care.
When we consider other urgent needs that flash before us, we must think about the future of our young
people. A good number of them discontinue their studies with the little bit that they have learned while
spending fifteen years in our schools, from kindergarten through the secondary level. In order to succeed in
saving and safeguarding the identity of our students, we envision accompanying them until such time as
they can undertake a profession. Therefore, the Saint Viator Educational Complex will soon provide a solution
to the general abandonment of their classical studies by our young people as they are encouraged and
orientated towards professions that will be useful for them in the future.
There are two pastoral activity programs that capture the attention of our young people: Service of Preparation
for Life (SPL) and New Christian Leadership (NCL). Various moments of sharing with the young people
whom we accompany in either school or parish settings always offer us opportunities to see how
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membership in such groups helps to energize our young people. The various activities of these two programs
(SPL and NCL) are inspired by the Word of God. Thanks to the focus and methodology used by those who
coordinate the different gatherings, many people who had been shunted aside by society have been able to
re-discover a sense of hope in life and to regain their rightful place. Members of SPL and NCL form a family.
The whole process teaches us how to live and become familiar with other people, independent of their
social status or intellectual level.
Through our two parishes Saint Francis of Assisi in Grand-Gove and Christ the King, situated on the
outskirts of Croix-des-Bouquets we discover that our people also have a desire to learn new things about
the life of the Church. The faithful want to be educated and to have educated persons accompanying them.
Whence the need to organize training sessions for those responsible for different groups and for the chapel
directors, so that they are prepared for their task of sharing the Word of God with the faithful at Sunday
celebrations and at community gatherings in the absence of the pastor or the associate pastor. Yes, it
should be mentioned, among other facts, that Saint Francis of Assisi Parish has six chapels. Some of those
chapels can be reached only on donkey back and require five or six hours of travel under the tropical sun
and via winding and steep trails. That is the case, for example, of the Sainte-Anne chapel, where the
patronal feast day is celebrated on July 26, an occasion that brings together many pilgrims and that provides
an opportunity for local people who are looking for a better life in other places to come home to celebrate
with their parents and other members of their families.
It is always with great joy that the pastor or associate pastor, accompanied by altar servers, enthusiastically
travels to meet the faithful and friends of Sainte-Anne and to share their hospitality for two or three days,
in an atmosphere of prayer and of visits to the sick, as is our custom here in Haiti. I myself have made that
pilgrimage to Sainte-Anne on two different occasions. And I have personally noted how the people of that
place retain many happy memories of the Clerics of Saint Viator because of their involvement with, and
closeness to, the People of God in that far-away corner of Grand-Gove.
I am discovering that Father Querbes project of going to support isolated priests in their parishes was an
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Manifesting a desire to proclaim Jesus Christ and his Gospel in the loneliest
regions requires a sense of uprooting, means leaving our comfort zones and our beautiful homes to go and
contemplate with rural dwellers the God who lives in straw houses, the God who invites us to be confident
and hopeful. Thus it was that my experience as associate pastor in Grand-Gove led me, three years ago,
to cultivate a taste for serving my brothers and sisters in those places where life appears to be somber and
to bring them my joy of living.
As was highlighted by Father Duchelande Saintilm, the Superior of the Foundation of Haiti, at the Assembly
last September 12, we are invited to build our community in confidence. We must take a look at the life of
each Viatorian in our community. With that in mind, I dared to cry out: Viatorians of Haiti, let us continue
sowing joy in the midst of those defenseless men and women to whom God sends us to announce his Word.
Let us dare to share our joy with all of those social and religious organizations that are devoted to building
bridges wherever life creates borders. Let us embrace the future with optimism as we pursue the motto of
Father Querbes, our Founder: Sinite parvulos venire ad me.

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Father Querbes and the Ivory Coast Today

Darius Amani,
Ivory Coast Religious

The Viatorians have been present in the Ivory Coast for some sixty years. It is therefore a community that is
recognized, respected, and appreciated by everyone. The country is coming out of a long period of political
instability: a military coup dtat in 2000, an armed rebellion in 2002, and a serious post-electoral crisis in
2010. That is what has been happening over these past ten years! In addition to the deaths and material
damages, these crises have left gaping moral consequences in which the Viatorian charism can be perfectly
expressed today.
Societys first need is a need to live out the Christian faith in a coherent way. Our Church and our society are
greatly in need of committed Christians. Faith needs to be expressed through actions. All of lifes sectors
must be imprinted. Our churches are full of Christians every Sunday. But those are the very same Christians
who have played major roles in the different crises that we have experienced. It is as if piety was superficial
and that God must be careful about getting involved in certain areas of peoples lives, especially their
political lives. So it is normal to wonder about the education that has been received. What catechesis have
we provided? What structures for helping faith take root have we developed in our parishes and communities?
The need to bring faith to life is more than pressing. Father Querbes, then, would have created a catechetical
formation center where certain brothers of ours would take responsibility for training catechetical leaders.
Additionally, they themselves, whatever might be their occupation, would be catechists. The work of that
center would make it possible for catechesis to no longer be an intellectual undertaking sanctioned by a
diploma: the sacraments of Christian initiation. It would be a catechesis that would promote meeting and
journeying with Someone, with Jesus Christ, and that would make possible a personal relationship. Along
those same lines, the founder would create groups in which faith could be developed. Those groups would
be living communities that would help people to take concrete actions in favor of justice and charity. Those
concrete actions could be literacy courses, visits to the sick, solidarity links, and so forth. Such groups
would also make it possible for Christians to continually educate themselves in order to live an authentic
faith in other words, a faith that is free from all fear (black magic, evil spirits), a faith that gives their
rightful place to God and to humans.
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The second need is a need for true moral and ethical points of reference. Young people have paid a high
price during these years of crisis. Young people constitute at least 25% of the unemployed. People manipulate
the young through money, through the attraction of easy money, more and more excluding any desire for
effort. The solidarity and the sense of gratuitousness in which our society once took pride are now trodden
underfoot. The crisis has truly accelerated the lack of reference points for the young. That is not the only
thing that is responsible, but it cannot be ignored either. To all of that must be added another problem: the
corruption that has become part of the educational world. That is dangerous for our society. Viatorian
educators must be ramparts when faced with the mercenary phenomenon in the teaching world. The use
of a teaching position as a trampoline while awaiting something better goes directly against the idea of a
vocation to teach. That also opens the door to all kinds of evils: buying of grades and purchasing of
diplomas. It goes without saying that all of that destroys the very foundations of any society, with merit no
longer having any value.
Today, in light of that situation, Father Querbes would have certainly given priority to the construction of
schools schools in which his confreres would take upon themselves the duty of giving new life to all
teaching through the teaching of Christian doctrine. Catholic schools have a good reputation in the Ivory
Coast. Therefore, that would be a sure means of teaching values to the young. Campus ministers and
religion teachers must be able to respond to the hopes and dreams of all those young people who are
searching for social, spiritual, and moral well-being. That expression of our charism is already being lived
out here. It remains only for the Viatorian community to intensify it.
These different graphs demonstrate to what extent the Viatorian charism remains alive and well for us.
Society and the Ivory Coast Church need that charism in order to mold, in fraternity, communities of life
where Christ would be truly adored and loved forever.

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Father Querbes in Jutiapa!

Alba Luz Meja,

associe de Jutiapa, Honduras

If Father Louis Querbes were a member of Our Lady of the Passage Parish, he would implement his muchdesired project by inviting many different people to acquire training so that they might become part of the
different pastoral programs, given that he would discover that, in the parish, there are many needs: social,
religious, political, cultural, and economic problems.
On the social level, there are problems of emigration, corruption, family disintegration, and drug addiction.
Father Querbes would bring together all of the major players among the different communities, organizations,
and municipal authorities in order to work together to discover ways to deal with the lack of employment
opportunities. He would promote family values by educating people in their faith and in their duty to be of
service to societys neediest members.
On the religious level, Father Querbes would not recognize differences as he tried to bring us together as
real brothers and sisters, even though we might belong to different religious denominations. He would
awaken that enthusiasm with a more missionary-minded spirit, approaching people so as to see the needs
of families and not leaving them isolated in their own comfort zones.
He would strive to promote youth ministry by training young people who are capable of playing an important
role in society and in the Church. On the level of grass-roots communities, he would continue raising
peoples awareness about the importance of living together as brothers and sisters, which in turn would
lead to the resolution of the differences that arise in families.
With respect to Catechesis, he would emphasize educating young people in their faith with the help of
catechists who are able to transmit that enthusiasm with the testimony of their lives and with that charism
of love and devotedness that he wished to transmit to us.
Insofar as the liturgy is concerned, he would encourage lay people to work with that fervor and enthusiasm
that is capable of attracting the People of God to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
With respect to Family Ministry, he would encourage more couples to become guides so that they, in their
turn, could animate other families, especially younger couples, in their role as good teachers of their children
and could help assure the unity of all families.
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On the political level, Father Querbes would try to raise peoples awareness about the importance of politics
when it is used for the common good and also about how to elect men and women who really have a desire
to serve in various public positions.
On the cultural level, he would awaken peoples interest in coming to a due appreciation of their own
culture and not imitating or giving excessive importance to foreign cultures.
Father Querbes would feel thankful to and satisfied with God for seeing his project come to reality and
take root with that charism about which he so often dreamt.

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Ovalle filled by the charism of Father Querbes

Vctor Mena,
Chile Associate

The Congregation of the Clerics of Saint Viator has two ministries in the city of Ovalle: a Parish and a
School. It is in the parish that I carry out my pastoral work and it is there that I have been able to observe
and to live as do the Religious, which has helped me, with time, to share what I think that Father Querbes
would have accomplished.
The population of the city of Ovalle has been growing and new neighborhoods and housing developments
have been established within the boundaries of the parish, with this new challenge being assumed by the
pastors, who are priests of the Congregation.
I imagine Father Querbes arriving at his parish and discovering that there are many needs and difficulties,
not only materially speaking, but also with respect to personnel to deliver Gods message. We are faced
with that same reality today, needing to make the Church present to the newest families. To do that, we had
first of all to obtain land and then build a chapel, which initially consisted of several rooms used for Sunday
celebrations and for catechetical instruction.
The priests at that time Fathers Saturnino San Martn, Jos Luis Iturriaga, and Amador Angulo represented
the spirit of Father Querbes, since they were concerned not only with furnishing space where the community
could gather, but also with training catechists, Ministers of the Word, and Ministers of the Eucharist who
could accompany the newest members of the parish in their need for spiritual assistance. We should also
mention the work that was done in different nearby villages through their welcoming and being present as
they showed their concern for each and every person as they learned their names and became familiar with
their families.
In the expanses of the Parish where I picture Father Querbes in action, one can see his charism imprinted
on his daily tasks and on the lives of those communities, because communities where faith is lived and
celebrated were really being created.
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Liturgical celebrations are marked with the seal and the zeal that our Founder wanted to give to celebrations
of faith. Throughout the Diocese, we are recognized for the quality of our celebrations and for our service of
the holy altar, all of which are carried out with great solemnity.
I imagine that Father Querbes left imprinted upon those who accompanied him and those who received his
assistance the image of someone dedicated to God a man of great zeal and of disinterested and admirable
charity. These twentieth and twenty-first century incarnations of Father Querbes, including the present
Pastor, Father Ral Marchant, are meaningful persons in the lives of many people. We who provide different
services in the Parish have been trained and accompanied by those priests at some time in our lives.
The charism of our Founder, insofar as it concerns teaching Christian Doctrine to little children, is one of our
strengths, since catechetical preparations for First Communion and Confirmation bring together each year
a large number of boys and girls and young people.
If we were to transplant Father Querbes into todays world, I believe that he would continue working with
training people not only to educate, but also to assist with the Liturgy. There are many Ministers of the
Word and Ministers of the Eucharist who are keeping that charism alive. There has been a continuing
concern for educating lay people and, in that way, integrating them into service of the liturgy and leadership
of small communities.
The image of the Viatorians in the city of Ovalle is greatly respected. All the priests who have lived and
worked here have left behind the charism of devotedness, of contact with the community, of solidarity, of an
ongoing concern for those most in need. I believe that Father Querbes would feel very much at home in the
community of Ovalle, since its members have continued in his footsteps.
The solidarity that Father Querbes manifested for those most in need is also reflected in the School, where
the students have developed that charism very extensively under the guidance of the Viatorians. The students
are very much involved with those who have less and serve them through the JUVI (Viatorian Youth)
Movement, either personally or as classes.
The work of Father Querbes is being carried on in Ovalle. If he were to appear here today, I believe that he
would be delighted with what is being done and would feel perfectly at home knowing that his apostolic
work and his dreams are still becoming reality.

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