Julio María Matovelle

The work of Julio María Matovelle is inseparable from the two religious institutes he founded to propagate the social reign of the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, as well as his commitment to the consecration of his homeland. The Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary. On October 6, 1884, Father Matovelle founded in Cuenca the male congregation of the Misioneros Oblatos de los Corazones Santísimos de Jesús y María. Approved by Bishop Mgr Miguel León on September 29, 1887, this community has as its vocation the imitation of the life of host and immolation of Jesus Christ. The missionaries dedicate themselves to evangelization, the education of youth, and the propagation of Eucharistic and Marian devotion. The Congregation of the Oblate Sisters of the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary. To extend this mission, he founded on April 8, 1892, the female branch, the Religiosas Oblatas de los Corazones Santísimos de Jesús y María, with the active collaboration of co-founders such as Amalia Urigüen, Virginia Urigüen, Rosaura Toro, Josefa and Micaela Íñiguez. Recognized at the diocesan level on March 9, 1894, the congregation would receive pontifical approval on July 25, 1957. The sisters work mainly in the integral education of children, missions, and social aid to vulnerable populations. Public engagement and builder of the faith. Parallel to his foundations, Father Matovelle led an intense public activity. A deputy and then senator in the National Congress of Ecuador from 1884 to 1895, he used his mandate to defend the freedom of the Church and promote projects of national scale. In 1883, he obtained the legislative decree ordering the construction of the monumental Basílica del Voto Nacional in Quito, a symbol of the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He was also the initiator of the monument project to the Virgin Mary on the Panecillo hill in Quito, concretizing the consecration of the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that he had promoted in 1892. This dual role as priest and politician earned him sharp opposition during the liberal revolution led by Eloy Alfaro. Persecuted by the regime, he had to go into exile in Lima, Peru, in 1895, before being able to return to Cuenca in December 1901. He passed away from pneumonia on June 18, 1929, in his hometown.

Father Matovelle's reputation for holiness, nourished by his heroic charity, his life of mystical prayer, and his pastoral dedication, prompted the local Church to initiate his beatification process after his death. The diocesan informative process regarding his reputation for holiness officially opened in Cuenca on September 24, 1959. In 1965, the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference transmitted the entire file to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. On July 10, 1970, a decree approved his numerous writings, formally conferring upon him the title of 'Servant of God'. After the validation of the informative process on May 8, 1987, and the publication of the Positio in 1989, the cause successfully passed the stages of theological and cardinalatial examination.

On March 26, 1994, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thus granting him the title of Venerable. To this day, no miracle has yet been officially approved by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to allow for his beatification. The cause remains active, and the faithful, particularly in Ecuador, continue to pray for graces through his intercession in order to advance his case toward beatification.

The spirituality of Julio María Matovelle is centered on the mystery of the Eucharist and the total offering of self, lived as a "life of host and immolation" in union with the sufferings of Christ and the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary. This reparative spirituality is expressed through an attitude of absolute availability and active charity toward one's neighbor.

Matovelle also leaves an immense intellectual legacy. A talented writer and poet, member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language, he authored more than thirty theological, legal, political, and poetic works, among which are his famous Meditaciones sobre el Apocalipsis and his Marian poetry.

Today, his legacy endures through the presence of the Oblate Missionaries and the Oblate Sisters in Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Italy, who run numerous educational institutions and social works under his motto: Todo por amor de Dios (Everything for the love of God).