By Luis Felipe Rodriguez Palacios
The plaque on the facade of the Santuario Hogar Guadalupano de Mexiquito (Orphanage of Mexiquito) notes that it was built when Manuel Martín Del Campo was the bishop of Leon and Father José Mercadillo was parish priest of San Miguel de Allende; that the land was donated by the Romero Erazo family, and included the ruins of the barns of the old Hacienda de Mexiquito to found this orphanage for boys and girls; and that the building was dedicated to Santa María de Guadalupe.
The home was built with contributions from benefactors whose names are listed in church archives. In 1968, the Bishop of León, Monsignor Anselmo Zarza y Bernal, visited and approved the project and left it in the care of Franciscan friars. The plaque was placed on December 12, 1970.
The project had originated and had been promoted by Fray José Mojica, starting in 1957. Documents chronicle this in the words of Monsignor Richter, “Here begins the sacrificial work of Father Mojica to carry out this work for the worship of Mary and service to the orphaned children of the area. There was no money or bank account. He (Fray Mojica) only counted on the Providence of God, and his own work… He went to various cities in Mexico and other countries [to raise funds]. He told me once, when I expressed my fears that there would be a lack of money to continue the construction, that money follows whoever works for God.”
The information about how Fray Mojica carried out the Mexiquito project from 1957-1966, is vague. According to Father Richter, the work was almost completed after nine years. It included the sanctuary, the sacristy, the high choir, the office, the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and two altars. The living quarters came a bit later. One altar was dedicated to Santa María de Guadalupe “on stones and rocks, simulating Tepeyac,” while the other altar was dedicated to Saint Joseph. In 1958-1959 Fray José Mojica was not able to dedicate himself fully to the project because he was working on filming “Yo Pecador” (“I, a Sinner”). When he finished filming he returned to his convent in Peru. Between 1960 and 1965 there is no record of the Father’s activities.
David Labrada, a master mason who worked on the construction of the sanctuary, was clear on the dates. He stated that he began working on the project on August 6, 1966, together with three other masons: Odilón Balderas, Encarnación Correa, and Cornelio Juárez. (Labrada was born in 1929 and came to live in San Miguel with his parents at a young age. He married, had six children, and lived at Zacateros 21).
Labrada recounted the following, “When I started working on Mexiquito, I was 37. It was July 18 when I met the Father. He came to where I worked, and told me about the project of building a shrine to Our Blessed Mother of Guadalupe. I asked him to wait a week and a half for me to start working with him.”
Labrada said that work began on the roof of the church on the small hill where there is an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe that the Father had borrowed from Pachuca. He said he also worked on the construction of the kitchen and the bedrooms that the children and nuns currently occupy, as well as the house that Father Mojica and Fray Gonzalo de Jesús Abreu were to live in. Fray Gonzalo arrived in San Miguel on August 27, 1967 from his native Havana, Cuba. In his book “My Guide and My Star,” Fray Gonzalo recounts that he was struck by a friar who, standing in a theater dressed in the Franciscan habit, was singing. After two songs he commented, “I know some of you will be surprised to see me here singing, but since many of you don’t go to church, the church comes to you.”
On December 12, 1970, the Mexiquito Guadalupano Home Shrine was inaugurated, although, according to Fray Gonzalo, many details were still missing. That day, according to Fray Gonzalo, the shrine was filled with people who came to the inauguration and to hear mass.”
Shortly before the inauguration Father Mojica suffered from dehydration and had to be hospitalized. That night, Mojica hugged Fray Gonzalo, who cried with gratitude for having been part of this work. The next morning, Father Mojica spoke to Fray Gonzalo again, saying, “Gonzalillo, it is time that we think of you. You must follow your Franciscan path. You must belong to the order in a province. Where would you like to go?” To this Fray Gonzalo replied, «Father, if I don’t stay here in Mexiquito, I don’t care where I go.”
Text source: “José Mojica, Sweet Renunciation”
The book is available at the Mexiquito Home Shrine.
