Words of Br. Ernesto at the funeral of Br. Luis Carlos

The funeral Mass of Br. Luis Carlos Gutiérrez, Vicar General, who died on January 4, took place in the Parish of “Nuestra Señora del Pilar” in Los Montesinos (Alicante, Spain) on January 8. Present were his family members, representatives of the General Council, the General Administration, the Province of América Cental and the provinces present in Spain.

The following are the words of the Superior General, Brother Ernesto Sanchez, at the end of the funeral Eucharist.

I thank you for your presence at this Eucharist, in which we entrust to God and to Mary, our Good Mother, our Brother Luis Carlos Gutiérrez Blanco. 

We accompany ourselves in this journey with his mother, Loren, his sister Martha and his family. 

Thanks to the Priests for the celebration, in this beautiful Church of Our Lady of Pilar: the Vicar of Alicante-Orihuela, Bienvenido Fernando Moreno Sevilla, the Parish Priests of this Church, Fathers Francisco Román Rodríguez and Pedro García. 

Thanks to the Provincials present: Aureliano García – to whom I am very grateful for all the support he has given during these days – Máximo Blanco, Abel Muñoz and Gabriel Villa-Réal, of the Marist Provinces present in Spain, and to Brother Juan Carlos Bolaños, Provincial of America Central, to which Brother Luis Carlos belongs.

And thanks to all the Brothers and lay people present here, Marists of Champagnat, and to the friends of the family who have come to participate.

We are all with you in the sorrow we feel at the death of Brother Luis Carlos. For me personally, it is very sad and painful to have lost my Brother and Vicar General, who in these years has done great and excellent service to the Institute. It is impressive the number of messages we received from so many Brothers and Lay Marists regarding Luis Carlos. It is good to look back and remember all the good he has done in the Institute, both in his Province of Central America, since he enter, at a very young age, and in the whole Institute during these 8 years as Vicar General.

We are invited to walk as “witnesses of hope”, as Pope Francis has suggested to us in this Jubilee Year.  In the midst of our sadness at the loss of our Brother, to live with hope remembering that our life comes from God and is always in Him, our Father and Creator.

Mary, our Good Mother, holds him in her hands.  We thank her and continue to trust in her, who loves us with such closeness and affection. And we entrust him to Saint Marcellin Champagnat.

Thanks to Brothers Óscar and Chuchi, who have prepared this Eucharistic Celebration.

Then we listened to the song “Hermano, adiós”, by Kairoi, which reminds us that Brother Luis Carlos is a Brother forever.