Ricardo García, bishop prelate of Yauyos-Cañete: "It is necessary to 'vaccinate' with sacraments".50th anniversary of St. Josemaría Escrivá's visit to Cañete50 years of Sant'Egidio: "friends of God, of the poor and of peace".Monsignor José María Ortega is the resigned bishop of Juli. He was the first Peruvian priest to be ordained in Yauyos and, in 2006, he was appointed bishop prelate of Juli. This prelature, located in the Peruvian puna at 4,000 meters above sea level next to Lake Titicaca, is one of the poorest areas of the country. For 13 years, Monsignor Ortega dedicated his life to serving these communities, facing challenges and leaving a legacy of faith and hope. Today he shares with us his experience and the fruits of his labor in this land of contrasts and extreme beauty. We spoke with him about his experience at the head of the prelature.
What is the territory you were assigned to like?
- The prelature of Juli was erected for the indigenous Aymara race, who live in five provinces and six districts of the Puno region, around Lake Titicaca. It is a very cold and destitute area.
What did you find at the Prelature when you arrived? What struck you most?
- What struck me most was the poverty, both material and spiritual. There were religious, but they had not been looking for vocations or training priests for the jurisdiction for more than 50 years. However, the previous bishops had left six Aymara priests, natives of the area.
How did you plan your work upon arrival? What was the first thing you did?
- The first thing was to take care of the five Aymara priests, since one of them was sick. I knew I needed to gain their trust, since I was from abroad and they were expecting a native bishop. I then focused on seeking vocations, visiting schools and dealing with young people. Inspired by St. Toribio de Mogrovejo, I decided to go all over the prelature to get to know it well.
How was the people's reception and did you encounter any difficulties?
- Yes, there are always difficulties. At the beginning, some authorities and those in charge of municipalities were reluctant, but the simple people, when they saw me celebrating Mass and explaining the sacraments, were happy. Little by little, I gained their trust. I remember a town called Quilcapunco, at 4,800 meters above sea level, where at first they did not open the church to me, but the people finally forced the person in charge to open it. That night we celebrated Mass, and the people were happy.
If there were only six priests, how was the formation of new priests? Was a seminary established?
- It was not easy, but with the help of two priests from Yauyos, Fernando Samaniego and Clemente Ortega, we started touring schools and talking to young people. We did not talk to them directly about vocation, but we showed them our work as priests. We played soccer with them and that is how we gained their trust.
Three years after my arrival, we started the major seminary, and after seven years we had the first ordinations. When I left the prelature, there were 24 ordained priests and 3 deacons, totaling 33 priests.
How was the experience with the women weavers in the region?
- It was an initiative that came later. I contacted friends in Spain, like Adolfo Cazorla, who helped improve the women's weaving. They taught them to perfect their art without losing their culture. This improved their economic and family situation. Today, these women have presentations in Lima and Madrid, and they are very grateful. The association created by these women artisans brings together 300 women from the Peruvian Altiplano, belonging to 21 communities.
What are the fruits and achievements of those years of work?
- I was bishop in Juli for 13 years, from 2006 to 2019. From the spiritual point of view, I left a seminary with 17 major seminarians and 14 minor seminarians. I erected new parishes, going from 17 to 26, all served by priests. We also improved the parish houses.
Materially, we helped improve crops and trout farming in Lake Titicaca, which raised the economic level of the families. All of this was possible thanks to the help of institutions such as AdveniatThe Italian Episcopal Conference and Caritas of Spain.
What message would you give to those who follow your work in the prelature of Juli?
- May they continue to dream and work with hope. As St. Josemaría Escrivá used to say, "dream and you will fall short". The sowing we have done will bear fruit, and good things will come for the Prelature.
Peruvian priest
