Fr. Jerónimo Genovard Ginard, 96-year-old TOR, member of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular, Vice-Province of Santa María de Guadalupe, was visited by Sister Death on Monday, August 28, 2023, at the Convent of Los Santos Reyes, spiritually assisted by his fraternity.
In the town of Artá, in Mallorca, Spain, he was born with the warm light of the first day of spring, on March 21, 1927; His parents were Antonio and Angela, he was the youngest of five siblings. At the age of 10, he entered the Third Order Regular, where on September 21, 1948, at the age of 21, he consecrated himself to God to live the evangelical counsels. He obtained a degree in theology from the Angelicum University in Rome. On March 25, 1950, he was ordained a priest in the Archbasilica of San Juan de Letrán, episcopal seat of the Bishop of Rome; Brother Jerónimo remembers: “It was the Holy Year of 1950 and there were 300 of us who would be ordained as priests in San Juan de Letran, and we were in the entire atrium and everything was white, very beautiful. Pope Pius XII wanted to give great importance to these ordinations with one of the most important activities of the year.”
After his ordination and until 1952, he was assigned to the Convent of Artá, there, his love for music led him to form a children’s choir, as well as liturgical instruction for acolytes and directing plays with young people.
In 1952, he left with other companions to go on a mission in the Brazilian jungle in the Mato Grosso region where he founded the first Franciscan mission; The Amazon jungle became his church. In 1965, Brother Nicolau de Villafranca sent him to found the Franciscan mission with the indigenous people of the mountains of Peru, in the town of Huamachuco, where Brother Jeronimo built chapels and convents.
In 1968, at the age of 41, he was sent on a mission to Mexico City, as vicar of Father Miguel Salóm, where he took on the task of remodeling the Chapel of the Holy Kings. There a longing takes root in the depths of his heart, a new mission: to erect a place consecrated to silence and prayer, in a space within nature. Brother Jerónimo travels all the roads and terrains until he finds the ideal place to build the Hermitage of Silence, and it was on the slopes of Iztaccíhuatl, an inactive volcano and in front of the Popocatépetl volcano, the place where his desire came true. Br. Jerónimo together with Br. Jacinto Gallardo, went to that site donated by Mr. Eliseo Larios. In 1984 the first stone was laid… from then on the construction of the Hermitage of Silence was very heavy work, almost artisanal: many hands and arms helped, and a miracle became a reality day by day: “I have been lucky enough to have many friends, that is why the Hermitage is a true monument to friendship” (Fr. Jerónimo). The process continued with the construction of the impressive chapel of “La Contemptación” of Romanesque inspiration, attached to it, a small chapel dedicated to the “Virgen de las Nieves” was built. When he raised the bell tower and placed the bell, Brother Jeronimo baptized it with his mother’s name: Angela”. Angela now rings every day to invite silence, and the distant sounds of the Popo fade away before this tinkling of a living fountain with Mallorcan roots.” “In the highest part of the hermitage, Brother Jerónimo planted twenty-four cypresses, which represent each of his nephews, and he named this place “The Field of Hope.”
Fray Jerónimo was also a great lover of ceramics, in fact, he studied at the School of Design and Crafts (EDA) of Fine Arts, based on that passion, he set up a ceramics workshop in the Parroquia de los Santos Reyes that included a oven. Thus, for forty years he dedicated himself to making ceramic pieces that he lovingly modeled with his hands to beautify each space of the Ermita del Silencio. “I complete this liturgical being of mine with making ceramics, by moving the clay to make my works, I find peace, serenity, creativity and enthusiasm. The great revelation, in the last hour of my life, is to pray in a Zen style, prayer done from within the silence and knowing how to breathe, this is what gives concentration and balance, intuition, vision, joy and unity with my friend. Jesus”.
On Tuesday 29, 2023, the funeral Mass was celebrated in the Parish of Los Santos Reyes, presided over by the Very Reverend Father Mauricio Alarcón Martínez, provincial minister. Finally, on Thursday, October 12, 2023, Brother Jerónimo ‘s ashes were moved to his beloved Ermita del Silencio. In a Franciscan atmosphere, the brothers and sisters of the Third Regular Order and the Friends of the Ermita del Silencio Association participated in the Eucharistic celebration presided over by the provincial minister, Fr. Mauricio Alarcón Martínez, who highlighted the great mission of Father Jerónimo to the service of the Order and the Church; Later, between a ringing of bells, chirping of birds and a fumarole from the Popocatépetl volcano, a portion of ashes was scattered in the Campo de la Esperanza, where a commemorative plaque was unveiled and it was in the Chapel of the Virgin of the Snows where Fr. Jerónimo Genovard Ginard, tor, rests in a sealed crypt of quarry stone carved with a flourishing Tao Cross.