He wore a colorful poncho with a sombrero, the attire worn by cattle herders. He rode his mule Malacara to oversee his poor parishioners around Sierra Grandes.
Cura Gaucho is a “shepherd who smelled of sheep, poor among the poor,” said Pope Francis, a fellow Argentine.
Saint Brochero was the first saint of Argentina.
Cowboy priest
Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero was born on March 16, 1840, the fourth among 10 children of Ignacio Brochero and Petrona Davila.
At 16, he entered Our Lady of Loreto and was ordained priest in the Diocese of Cordoba on November 4, 1866. He was assigned to do pastoral tasks in the Cathedral of Cordoba, and Prefect of Studies in the Major Seminary.
From the University of Cordoba he earned his Master of Philosophy in 1869. He helped care for the sick during the 1867 cholera epidemic.
In 1869, he was assigned to the Parish of Saint Albert. It was a deplorable place on the great highlands of Sierra Grande. His parishioners were isolated from the rest of the country and each other by the 6,500-foot. mountain ranges.
There were no roads, no schools, no means of communication, not even letters to mail for there were no postal or telegraphic services.
Despite strong snow storms, he traveled 125 miles in three days riding his mule. After nine days of prayer and penance, he was determined to develop the region. He was considered a “spiritual giant.”
Always, as he traveled with his dependable mule, he was a familiar figure in poncho with a large sombrero. He always carried his Mass kit, a prayer book and the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In “Who Was Father Brochero?” an article on the Internet, he was described as a pastor who devoted his time to those who needed help—“no sick person was left devoid of the sacraments as there was no force that could stop him.” And he said: “Woe if the devil is going to rob a soul from me.”
Public servant par excellence
Pope Francis, during his beatification on September 15, 2013, said: “He [Brochero] knew the love of Jesus. He let his heart be touched by the mercy of God, which he extended to all people.”
This man of God was also considered “a public servant par excellence.” With his parishioners, they built over 125 miles of road to develop a sense of community.
He planned a railway through Traslasiera to connect Dolores and Soto. Too, he requested authorities to provide for post and telegraph services in the region.
A place “Abandoned by all, but not by God,” as the indefatigable man of God remarked, became an example of what a community inspired by committed leadership can accomplish.
Houses for Exercises (Spiritual Activities) was built in 1875 and inaugurated in 1877. A school for girls and a convent for teachers was founded in 1880. The article “The Gaucho Priest, Jose Brochero beatified on September 25, 2013” noted: “He dedicated himself entirely to his flock. Their needs came first as his sole focus.”
He visited his sick and needy parishioners often. In one of his visits, he embraced a leper and contracted the disease.
The Catholic News Agency in an article, however, noted that his disease was due to the favorite drink in the area, yerba mate, which he drank with blind patients.
In 1898 he was appointed Canon of the Catholic University of Cordoba. On August 25, 1902, he was appointed pastor in Villa del Transito and resigned on February 5, 1908.
Blind, deaf and leprous toward the end of his life, he lived with his sisters. His last words: “Now I have everything ready for the journey.” He died on January 26, 1914.
On October 16, 2016, he was canonized by Pope Francis.
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Damo-Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.