Mariano Gazpio Ezcurra

In 1924, Father Mariano volunteered to be part of the very first missionary expedition of the Augustinian Recollects to mainland China. Arriving on April 4, 1924, in the mission of Kweiteh (today Shangqiu), in the Henan province, he found himself in a region almost entirely devoid of Christians.

Despite initial difficulties, notably the learning of a complex language and adaptation to a harsh lifestyle, he distinguished himself by his apostolic zeal and deep piety. He learned to speak Chinese fluently and subsequently taught it to new missionaries. He exercised his ministry in several mission stations, notably in Chengliku (Chenliku), Yucheng, Chutsi, and Kweiteh.

During his 28 years of presence in China, he assumed important responsibilities: * Director of the catechist school of Chutsi (1934-1941) * Vicar General of the diocese (1941-1948) * Religious Superior of the mission (1946-1952)

He had to face major trials: civil wars, bandit attacks, bombings of the mission, and, finally, religious persecution under the communist regime of Mao Zedong. Despite the dangers, he refused to abandon his faithful. However, like almost all foreign missionaries, he was arrested, placed under close police surveillance, and then expelled from China at the beginning of 1952.

Returning to Spain in 1952, he began a second phase of his life dedicated to the formation of young religious. He was appointed novice master and vice-prior at the convent of Monteagudo (1952-1955), then prior of that same convent (1955-1958), before becoming novice master again (1958-1964). In 1964, he was transferred to the convent of Marcilla, where he spent the last 25 years of his life as spiritual director and confessor to theology students.

Father Mariano Gazpio Ezcurra passed away on September 22, 1989, at the Hospital of Navarre in Pamplona, following cardiac arrest caused by a cerebral hemorrhage and pneumonia, on the eve of his 90th birthday. He was buried in the cemetery of Marcilla, before his remains were transferred in 2014 to the conventual church of the Augustinian Recollects in Marcilla.

His reputation for holiness, already firmly established during his lifetime both among the Chinese faithful (who called him the "saint of the mission") and his confreres in Spain, prompted the Order of Augustinian Recollects to request the opening of his cause for beatification.

The diocesan informative process was opened in 1998 by the Archbishop of Pamplona and Tudela, Msgr. Fernando Sebastián Aguilar, and was solemnly closed on March 20, 2004, after having collected 950 pages of documents and heard 58 witnesses. The validity of the diocesan process was decreed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on January 27, 2006.

On May 22, 2021, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Mariano Gazpio Ezcurra, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable. For his beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession is now required.

The spirituality of the Venerable Mariano Gazpio is deeply rooted in the Augustinian Recollect charism: a life of intense contemplative prayer united with tireless missionary zeal. His confreres remember him as a man of extraordinary humility, great gentleness, and exemplary temperance. He spent long hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, often at night.

One of his intimate prayers, frequently heard by the religious who lived with him in Marcilla when he believed he was alone in the chapel, summarizes his total abandonment to the divine will: "Lord, deliver me from myself" ("Señor, líbrame de mí mismo"). His legacy remains alive within the Augustinian Recollect Family, particularly in Spain and China, where he is venerated as a model of fidelity in trial and self-giving.