In memoriam...

Pontaut (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina), 16 July 1922 - Belo Horizonte (Brazil), 20 December 2016

Father Enrique Lasuén is a Betharramite of the Etchecopar Region, who died on 20 December 2016 at Belo Horizonte. Reaching the age of 94 after having had a fruitful pastoral ministry, this man of God saw his health decline. After a brief hospitalisation, he fell asleep in the arms of Our lady of Betharram Betharram, at 7 am.

He was born on July 16, 1922, in Pontaut, in the Coronel Pringles district of the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina). He had entered the religious family of Betharram at a young age. A vocations promoter discovered him in the church of his village, where he was a choirboy. As a boy he had worked as a herdsman watching cattle on horseback, accompanied by dogs, and also other pastoral tasks. Ordained at Adrogué in 1948, he has celebrated 68 years of priestly life. From 1948, he had been destined for mission in Brazil, where he worked generously for 61 years. He started at Passa Quatro, for three years; Then he was transferred to Conceição do Rio Verde to lead the Congregational Minor Seminary. He had the reputation of being a good vocational animator and “he himself drove the minibus to bring the candidates to the seminary.”In 1957 he was appointed Master of Novices to form candidates for religious life at Passa Quatro. That year, he assumed the office of Superior Vice-Provincial of Brazil. In 1961 he inaugurated the house of the Scholasticate in Belo Horizonte, Nova Granada, for philosophical and theological formation of the Betharram family. Not only was he rector of the scholasticate, he was also the first parish priest of the new parish of Our lady of the Beautiful Branch, also entrusted to Betharram. He remained there ten years as parish priest.

From 1993 to 2002, he worked in pastoral ministry at the parish of Santa Lucia in the suburbs of Belo Horizonte. In 2002 he accepted this challenge of returning to his native Argentina to become part of the new Regional Novitiate community of Adrogué as ‘elder statesman’. He remained there until December 2008, before finally returning to his beloved Brazil, to continue his service as a formator. From 2009 to 2016, he was member of the regional scholasticate team (Argentina-Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil), at Nuova Granada, Belo Horizonte. Father Enrique (“Pitchuleco”) returns to the House of the Father, leaving unshakable impressions among Betharramites and many who have had the grace to know Him. He was a religious with a good character. He was joyful, pious, dynamic in his activities and also courageous in the face of the difficulties he encountered on his way. His sensibility, even in the dark and painful moments, inspired him with serene words for all. He was loved by his brothers, by scholastics and novices, and by many lay people. Everyone teased him and took care of him with tenderness. Wherever he exercised his pastoral ministry, people still remember his deeds. We can see everywhere works that he founded, such as the construction of churches, parish houses, social works etc. Someone who knew him well retains a memory of his optimism, his strong and decisive spirit: He was able to face a corrupt administrator or a street thief, without any fear. He had a generous hand for the needy and a compassionate heart for the penitent. Through his patience, he caught a glimpse of the Light even in the most obscure tunnels of life. In the administrative field, he was audacious and certainly full of confidence in Divine Providence ... God bless him!

Now that he is close to God, he will certainly intercede for his religious Family and for all those friends whom he won over during his passage through this world. In heaven, near Our lady of Betharram and St. Michael Garicoits, Father Enrique knows the true joy and the reward that the Lord reserves for his faithful servants.

Paulo Vital scj and P. Gustavo Agín scj