Mamerto Esquiú

Fray Mamerto Esquiú

Mamerto de la Ascensión Esquiú, Venerable Servant of God (May 11, 1826 - March 10, 1883) was a historically significant Argentine friar.

He was born in Piedra Blanca in Catamarca Province to Esquiú and María de las Nieves Medina. His mother chose the name Mamerto de la Ascensión in homenage to Saint Mamerto due to his date of birth being Saint Mamero day, and Ascensión because Ascension day fell on that day in 1883.

He took his Franciscan faith from his mother, and on May 31, 1836 he began training at the Catamarca Franciscan Convent in Catamarca. He performed his first mass on May 15, 1849.

He was fervently committed to education being a teacher and professor at the convent.

After the bloody civil war of July 9, 1853 he preached his famous Sermon of the Constitution, where he prayed for the union of all Argentines. He became a noted as a patriot and religious figure for his oratory and sermons advocating Argentine unity and the 1853 constitution.

Mamerto Esquiú was consecrated Bishop of Córdoba on December 12, 1880 and took possession of its episcopal headquarters on January 16 the following year.

He died on January 10, 1883 in El Suncho, Catamarca, his mortal remains lie in Córdoba Cathedral. His incorrupt heart had remained in the Franciscan Convent in Catamarca. In January 2008, his heart was stolen from the urn in which it was kept; this is the second time it was taken, as someone had previously absconded with it in 1990.^[1] The Fray Mamerto Esquiú Department in Catamarca Province is named in his honour.

Mamerto Esquiú was declared a Servant of God in 2005 and Venerable in 2006 and the cause for his beatification is advancing. The house where he was born, which stands facing the Church of St. Anthony, was declared a National Historic Monument.

References

1. ^ Friar's Heart Stolen From Monastery Urn Zenit.org

Persondata
Name	Esquiu, Mamerto
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 11, 1826
Place of birth
Date of death	March 10, 1883
Place of death