Maximiliano Valdés Subercaseaux

Father Francisco began his ministry by teaching philosophy in San José de la Mariquina, then worked in Boroa and Pucón. He tirelessly visited isolated Mapuche communities. In Pucón, he founded the San Francisco Hospital, the monastery of the Capuchin Poor Clares of Santa Chiara, and built schools and churches. An artist, he created the Christ of Antumalal and the Christ of Tromen. On June 20, 1956, he was appointed the first bishop of Osorno by Pope Pius XII. Consecrated on September 16, 1956, he dedicated himself entirely to his diocese for twenty-five years. After the terrible Valdivia earthquake in 1960 that destroyed Osorno, he supported the victims and designed the plans for the new Saint Matthew Cathedral. He participated in the Second Vatican Council, convened a diocesan synod, and took part in the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 1979. Stricken with cancer, he passed away on January 4, 1982, in Pucón.

The reputation for holiness of Bishop Francisco Valdés Subercaseaux led to the opening of his cause for beatification. The diocesan inquiry took place in Osorno from November 3, 1998, to September 28, 2001, hearing 194 witnesses over the course of 203 sessions. The validity of these inquiries was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on June 7, 2002. The Positio, demonstrating the heroic nature of his virtues, was submitted in Rome on November 29, 2012. The theological consultants and subsequently the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation issued a favorable opinion in 2014.

On November 7, 2014, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Francisco Maximiano Valdés Subercaseaux, conferring upon him the title of Venerable. For his beatification, a miracle is required. A presumed healing in Chile was the subject of an investigation validated in 2007, but the medical commission of the Congregation concluded on May 21, 2015, that this healing did not present a scientifically inexplicable character. The cause is currently awaiting the official recognition of a miracle.

Bishop Francisco Valdés Subercaseaux embodied the ideal of poverty and simplicity of Saint Francis of Assisi, living in total destitution with his habit and sandals. His episcopal motto was 'Quia amo Te' ('Lord, You know that I love You'). He also distinguished himself as a peacemaker in 1978 during the Beagle conflict between Chile and Argentina, by suggesting to President Augusto Pinochet that he resort to the mediation of the Holy See and by offering his life for peace. Nicknamed 'Padre Pancho', he rests in the crypt of Saint Matthew's Cathedral in Osorno, where the faithful continue to venerate him.