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Quo Primum
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Quito Pilgrimage 2013 The valiant Archbishop, although deprived of those helpers, continued the work of the National Basilica. United with the other prelates of Ecuador, he set the following tenth of …More
Quito Pilgrimage 2013

The valiant Archbishop, although deprived of those helpers, continued the work of the National Basilica. United with the other prelates of Ecuador, he set the following tenth of July as the date for the solemn placing of the first stone on San Juan Hill. It was the second stone placed with the nature of a first. Let us recall that the true cornerstone was placed in the area of Belen on October 5, 1883, that is, eight years, nine months and five days previously, with great solemnity and a discourse by Pentavirate member Luis Cordero. In a collective pastoral letter dated July ninth, the Ecuadorian episcopate said:

The Basilica of the National Vow will be the palace from which the Supreme Monarch of the entire universe will reign in this nation. This church will be the throne of the divine mercies and the fount of graces for the whole Republic. Against the walls of this shrine the waves of revolution and of impiety will crash powerlessly. Against them the lances will break that Hell never ceases to hurl at the Ecuadorian Church: this small but chosen portion of the flock of the Eternal Shepherd. This temple will be the harbor of refuge for this nation in the storms through which the future threatens it. In its vestibule the little ship of the State will rest peacefully like the Holy Ark on Mount Ararat after the deluge of so many political upheavals and revolts. Just as the Hebrew nationality was consolidated forever with the Temple of Jerusalem, we too hope that Ecuador will fully enter the firm path of peace in the shade of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus…”[1]

Later the Most Illustrious Bishops said that since Ecuador was already consecrated to the Heart of Jesus, it was imperative to consecrate her also to the Most Pure Heart of Mary. Consequently they added:

As the Pastors which we are of this Church, we solemnly and irrevocably consecrate the Republic of Ecuador to the Most Pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary; starting today we are obligated to recognize the Divine Mother of the Redeemer as the special Patroness, Protector and Advocate of our nation, and our effective intercessor before the throne of mercy.

in November of 1883:

The Republic of Ecuador had given us the beautiful example of a Christian State, affirming the rights of God in its laws and making them respected in all institutions. In 1873 under the initiative of Garcia Moreno, the entire Nation was officially consecrated to the Sacred Heart. Two years later, Garcia Moreno fell under the assassin’s dagger. But when dying, that man of faith said to his weeping friends, “Take courage! God does not die.” Garcia Moreno was a prophet. One of the acts of this Restorative Government (the Pentaverate), has been to issue the following decree.” The decree of July twenty-third of the same year was then copied.[2]

The Eco de Cordoba[3] in Argentina commented on the act in these terms: “The Provisional Government, barely having defeated the dictatorship, which was an opprobrium and a disgrace to Garcia Moreno’s native land, is determined to erect a Basilica with the purpose of dedicating it to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” etc. For the sake of brevity, ovations from other foreign newspapers are omitted.
The new Legislative Convention was installed in Quito, composed of a majority of Catholics. They wanted to issue a decree renewing the consecration made by the legislators in the year 1873. But they were afraid of provoking outrages and insults to the Catholic Church on the part of the few antireligious Delegates. Consequently that renovation was disposed to be done privately on February 4, 1884, in the Church of the Sacred Hearts.
The students, girls from the School, sang the Veni Creator Spiritu. Then the priest, Fr. Matovelle, had the consecration renewed through the following formula. The words were first pronounced by that priest and then repeated in unison by the Catholic Representatives of the Republic:

Adorable Heart of Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, by whom and for whom all the peoples and nations of the earth have been created! In deference to Thy most lovable and infinite sovereignty, as much as we are able from this day forward, we offer and consecrate the Republic of Ecuador as Thy exclusive possession and property…[4] Grant, Lord, to take this nation as Thy inheritance. Receive her under Thy sovereign protection. Free her from all her enemies. Manifest to all nations that Ecuador is Thine. Prove to the world that the nation which chooses Thee as Lord and God is blessed. And make the glory of Thy Most Holy Name shine always in our Republic. Amen.[5]
The part about “the fourth time he was condemned to die by the high Masonic powers that then resided in Germany” was reinforced in this paragraph written by Jose Quignard in his biography on Father Didier:

Who does not already know it? This great man, justly called the Charlemagne of the nineteenth century, was viewed unfavorably by Freemasonry. Bismarck was annoyed that he …