The Eucharistic celebration that accompanied the transfer was presided over by Archbishop Marcos Pérez Caicedo, Archbishop of Cuenca, and was attended by members of the Salesian Family, ecclesiastical and civil authorities, as well as numerous faithful who gathered to accompany the ‘Apostle of the Poor’.
In the context of the feast of St John Bosco, the celebration also had a special meaning for the Sacred Heart of Jesus Province of Ecuador, thanks to the simultaneous profession of perpetual Salesian vows by Edin Oswaldo Villamar Franco, who thus consecrated himself definitively and for life to God, to the service of the Church and to the Salesian mission.
After Communion, Fr Marcelo Farfán, Provincial of the Salesians in Ecuador, together with the Commission for Beatification, presented the mortal remains of the venerable Fr Crespi to the Archbishop. For over forty years, these remains had rested in the Patrimonial Cemetery of Cuenca, as a sign of gratitude for a life totally dedicated to God and as a gift offered to the whole Church.
In an atmosphere of profound silence, Archbishop Pérez Caicedo received the remains and, accompanied by the celebrants, began the procession inside the church towards the new chapel. This moment was marked by an intense expression of popular faith: many faithful approached the coffin in tears, placing rosaries, images and photographs on it and invoking the intercession of the venerable Salesian, while remembering his goodness and compassion, especially towards those most in need.
Once they reached the chapel, a solemn blessing was celebrated for this space, conceived as a permanent place of prayer, recollection and spiritual encounter. The sprinkling of holy water marked the consecration of the place, entrusting it to God as a living memory of the gospel and a school of charity, in harmony with the charism of Don Bosco.
Subsequently, the Ordinary of Cuenca proceeded to place the mortal remains in the columbarium, specially prepared for their dignified custody, emphasising that holiness has a place in the community and that the witness of Venerable Fr Crespi will thus continue to animate the faith of the believing people.
The ceremony concluded with a communal prayer of thanksgiving, in which the life of Fr Crespi was remembered, a life entirely devoted to proclaiming the gospel, serving the poor and accompanying young people.
With this event, the Salesian Family of Ecuador reaffirms the deep spiritual bond between the Venerable Fr Carlo Crespi Croci and the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, and offers the Church and the city of Cuenca a permanent place of prayer, inviting the faithful to have recourse to his intercession and to keep alive the hope of seeing him soon raised to the altars.
Angélica Almeida,
Secretary of the Commission for the Beatification of Fr Crespi
