The Last Letter of Garcia Moreno



Gabriel Garcia Moreno 1821-1875

Garcia Moreno signs the Concordat between Pope Pius IX & the Republic of Ecuador, 1862

Quote:“Senators and Representatives. Of all the great gifts which God has vouchsafed our Republic from the inexhaustible treasure of His mercy, I consider that the greatest is to see you reunited, through His protecting support, beneath the shadow of the peace that He grants to us and preserves in us, although we are nothing, capable of nothing, and know not how to reply to His paternal goodness except by an inexcusable and shameful ingratitude.

Carrying a large cross down the streets of Quito during Holy Week

“But a few years ago, Ecuador was daily experiencing those sad words, first uttered by the ‘liberator’ Bolivar in his last message to the Congress of 1830: 'I blush to confess it, independence is the only good we have acquired, and that at the cost of every other.'

“Since that time, however, placing all our hope in God, we have distanced ourselves from the torrent of impiety and apostasy that storms the world in this age of errors, and today have reorganized into a truly Catholic nation. And we see that everything has turned out to the good and prosperity of our dear country.

“Ecuador was a corpse, from which life had fled; like a carcass it laid, preyed upon by the multitude of horrible insects that liberty or putrefaction was continually breeding in the darkness of the sepulchre. But today, at the command of that supreme Voice which bade Lazarus rise from his fetid tomb, our country also has returned to life, though it still retains the bands and winding-sheet of death, that is, the remains or the wretchedness and corruption in which we were buried.

“To prove the truth of my words, I need but give a brief account or the advances made by us in the two last years, just as I find them recorded in greater detail in the documents and particular reports of each minister. And in order to ascertain more exactly how far we have proceeded during this period of regeneration, I shall compare the present state of affairs with the one from which we took our start; not, indeed, with a view to our own praise, but in order to glorify Him to whom we owe all, and whom we adore as our Redeemer and Father, as our Protector and God.” (Here follows an enumeration or all the advantages obtained, which he summarizes).

Garcia Moreno with Jesuits, whom he returned to the country after they were expelled by a previous Masonic government

“To the full liberty which the Church possesses among us and to the apostolic zeal of our virtuous pastors are due the reform of the clergy, the improvement in morals and the diminution of crime, which is so striking that in a population of more than one million, there is not to be found a sufficient number of criminals to people our penitentiary.

“To the Church again are we obliged for those religious congregations that produce such an abundance of good fruits by the instruction they give to children and youth, and the help they extend towards the sick and abandoned. We are their debtors for the renewal of the religious spirit in this year of jubilee and sanctification, and for the conversion of 9,000 savages on our eastern province to a Christian and civilized life.

“On account of the vast tract of country there is urgent need in this province of a second Vicariate. If you authorize me to treat this matter with the Holy See, I will see to its establishment. I intend, moreover, to further its commerce by rooting out the speculations and violent exactions to which the poor inhabitants have long been subject on the part of inhuman traders. Yet laborers are wanting; and, to form these, we must yearly come to the aid of our venerable and most zealous Archbishop in the building of a large seminary, which he has not hesitated to commence, relying on the protection of Heaven and our own efficacious cooperation.

“Do not lose sight of the fact that our small successes would be short-lived and useless had we not founded the social order of our Republic on the ever-assailed and ever-victorious rock of the Catholic Church. Her divine teaching, which neither individuals nor nations can reject without losing themselves, is the rule of our institutions and the law of our legislation.

“As faithful and docile children of that venerable, august and infallible Pontiff, whom all the powers of earth have abandoned as a vile and cowardly impiety besets him, we have continued to send him every month our small pecuniary succor, set aside by you for him in 1863. Since our want of strength obliges us to remain passive spectators of his slow martyrdom, may this poor gift be at least a proof of our good will and affection, and a pledge to him of our obedience and fidelity.

“In a few days my present term of office will expire. The Republic has enjoyed six years of peace, interrupted only by a momentary rising in 1879 of the natives of Riobamba against the white population. During these six years we have marched forward with rapid strides on the way to true progress under the visible protection of Providence. The results would certainly have been far more magnificent had I possessed the qualities for governing, which unfortunately I lack, or endeavored to be more fervent about the accomplishment of good.

“If I have committed defects, I ask your pardon a thousand times, and with sincere sorrow do I implore forgiveness of all my fellow-citizens, being persuaded that my will had no part in them. If, however, you think that I have succeeded in anything, attribute it to God first and to the Immaculate Dispensatrix of the inexhaustible treasures of His mercy, and next to yourselves, the people, the army, and to all who have assisted me with their advice and fidelity in the fulfillment of my arduous duties.

Signed, Gabriel Garcia Moreno
Quito, August 1865