July 19th marks nineteen years since the Lord took Monsignor Enrique Pélach to His presence. He died in Abancay in 2007, the year he celebrated sixty-three years as a priest, fifty of them as a missionary in Peru, and three days after completing thirty-nine years as a bishop in these Andes. After his remains lay in state in the Cathedral, the faithful refused to allow his burial without first carrying his coffin on their shoulders through the main streets of the city as a tribute. He was then laid to rest in the crypt of the cathedral, where many people come to pray and ask for favors through his intercession.

He was born in Anglés (Girona) on October 3, 1917, the year of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, but also of the last apparition of Our Lady of Fatima with the famous Miracle of the Sun. He came from a large, devoutly Christian family. Three of his sisters were nuns (Franciscan Missionaries of Mary), the youngest of whom, Mother Remei, lives in Lima. He soon felt a calling to the diocesan priesthood with missionary zeal. The Spanish Civil War interrupted his seminary studies. He had to participate in the war, driving a supply truck. Finally, he was ordained a priest in 1944. He studied Missiology in Rome—where he became friends with Saint Josemaría Escrivá—worked as a formator at the Girona Seminary, and dedicated much time to the spiritual and material support of priests.

With the permission of his bishop, Monsignor Cartañá, he voluntarily moved to the newly created Prelature of Yauyos in Peru, entrusted by the Holy See to the care of Opus Dei, and whose first prelate was Don Ignacio María de Orbegozo. It was the poorest of the newly created prelatures, comprising two provinces with altitudes between 3,000 and 4,000 meters above sea level, and were very neglected in every respect. There were five priests with the prelate. Enrique, at forty years old, was the oldest. There he carried out his missionary work. For the first five years, he kept a diary in which he recorded his work: Masses, baptisms, confessions, marriages… and also the hours he spent on horseback. In five years, he logged up to 8,000 hours on horseback visiting the villages. After ten years, he was appointed Bishop of Abancay by Pope Saint Paul VI.

The Diocese of Abancay—a suffragan diocese of Cusco—comprises four highland provinces between 2,500 and 3,500 meters above sea level. It had been established for ten years and faced an immense task, which it undertook with great faith and enthusiasm. The clergy was scarce: a few elderly priests and half a dozen from the Society of St. James the Apostle, founded in Boston. Little by little, it recruited Spanish priests. All were volunteers with the permission of their respective bishops (from Girona, Solsona, Logroño, Sigüenza-Guadalajara, Soria, Lugo, Tuy-Vigo, Orense, etc.).

His first passion was to have native priests. They had to be trained from childhood. No one in Abancay knew what a seminary was. But he set to work and started an academy with a rector and two boys. Saint Josemaría Escrivá encouraged him: “You will have priests for your diocese and for others.” The prophecy came true: once the Seminary was built—with help from Girona and Germany—vocations began to arrive. Several bishops and archbishops also sent their candidates. Ordinations began in 1983. Today, the clergy is native, and several ecclesiastical jurisdictions in Peru have more than a dozen priests trained in Abancay. He sent some to Rome or Navarre to obtain licentiates and continue the work of the Seminary. Likewise, he fostered many vocations of religious sisters who work in the diocese and have founded or supported convents in Peru, Spain, and Colombia.

His second passion was spreading sound doctrine: In collaboration with a German bishop—Monsignor Künnel—he published a catechism that went through many editions and was sold both domestically and internationally, with translations into Quechua, Portuguese, and Japanese. He also published thousands of copies of the Christian Guide, which was distributed in several countries. And there was a Spanish-Quechua devotional book, Pray and Sing, which has seen seven editions to date.

His third passion was social work – Christian charity –: Caritas of Abancay, a Medical Center – which began for lepers and infectious diseases – and is now the Santa Teresa Hospital, the Nursing Home, other medical dispensaries, homes for students from rural areas, soup kitchens…

His work as a builder should also be highlighted. He drew up the plans himself, which were then signed by a registered architect, and he led a small company of very efficient workers. He renovated the cathedral, built some eighty churches or chapels, the medical center, the nursing home, the major and minor seminaries, retreat houses, a priests’ residence, medical clinics, several convents…

His means: a profound interior life, knowing how to ask with great confidence in Divine Providence, and using resources wisely. He was very austere. He lived in great poverty with six other priests in an adobe bishopric with a corrugated iron roof. He wanted nothing for himself. His successor built the new one. He lived fifteen years as an emeritus priest and continued working in Abancay, always in spiritual and material matters, as long as he was able. His last months, his illness, and his death were, like his life, an example of fortitude and strength: a crescendo of faith, hope, and love.

Many in Peru, in his native Girona, and elsewhere are requesting the process of beatification and canonization. The prayer card for private devotion highlights his faith and missionary zeal, his dedication to ministry, to promoting vocations, and to caring for the poor and sick. It asks the Lord to “love Him also with deeds and to work for the spiritual and material good of my brothers and sisters,” and, through his intercession, to obtain the favor desired.