Father Julio: path to the altars next to Blessed Chiquitunga and San Roque González

Asuncion, IP Agency.- On the morning of July 4, the Apostolic Nuncio of His Holiness, Vincenzo Turturro, celebrated a Holy Mass in the Parish of San José in the city of Ybycui. The celebration, which began at 09:00, was attended by the co-celebrant bishop of the diocese, Celestino Ocampo Gaona, the parish priest and priests of the area.

The reason for the presence of Pope Francis’ apostolic nuncio is to support the desire of that diocese and of all Paraguayan Catholic parishioners that Father Julio César Duarte Ortellado (1906-1943) be a new Paraguayan Saint. The remains of Father Ortellado rest in that parish. He was the one who promoted the construction of the temple in honor of Saint Joseph, the only cross-shaped church in the world, today surrounded by pink lapachos that have begun to bloom in July.

It was also in this month, on July 13, 2020, that the Bishop of Carapeguá, Celestino Ocampo, announced the opening of the process for the Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God Father Julio. He is currently a Servant of God; later he must be declared Venerable, Blessed and finally a Saint.

Father Julio was admired for his eloquence and wisdom. He wrote letters to his mother that remained as witnesses of his great faith. In them he affirmed that every priest must seek holiness and not be proud of the admiration of his talents.

The Pastoral Observatory of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) collected documents and testimonies about the life of Father Julio César Duarte Ortellado.

He was born on Holy Thursday, April 12, 1906 at three in the afternoon in Caazapá, where the Franciscan fathers were settled. His father was a prosperous cattle rancher and businessman. His mother was a devout Catholic and carried out charitable works on a permanent basis. His brother was a doctor, a combatant in the Chaco and the first Minister of Public Health of Paraguay.

He was an altar boy of Father Carlos Heyn, who said of him: “After catechism, he would gather a few boys of his age in his home and, getting into an enormous old barrel that was in the courtyard and that served as a pulpit, he would begin to imitate with singular skill the local priest, repeating the words that he had pronounced in his Sunday homily.”

The temple of San José in Ybycui was built by Father Julio César Ortellado. His remains rest there.

The early vocation

In 1921, Julio César Duarte Ortellado came to Asunción to enter the Conciliar Seminary of Asunción. At the age of 14, he was firmly convinced of his vocation. In 1926, he moved to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies at the Pontifical Pious Latin American College.

After three years of study, on Sunday, October 27, 1929 at 8:00 in the morning he was ordained a priest by Pope Saint Pius X, on the day of Christ the King and one day before his father’s 60th birthday.

Regarding his ordination, Julio said: “I cannot explain the emotion I felt. Everything was too great and profound.” The day after his ordination he celebrated his first mass and recalled in one of his letters to his parents: “I remember when I was little and I would put on my father’s old overcoat to celebrate mass and hear confessions.” “What a thing, my God! Everything has been true, real and beautiful! Let us thank God that he has brought me to this day!”

Father Julio César Ortellado returned to Paraguay on the gunboat “Humaitá”. He was appointed Vicar Cooperator of the Parish of the Encarnación, later, “Lieutenant Curate of the Metropolitan Church” and “Chaplain of the House of the Good Shepherd”. Later he was “Lieutenant Curate of Caazapá and its Excusadurias”; he was named Parish Priest of Ybycuí and Excusador of Quyquyhó, and Mbuyapey; in addition he was designated “to serve as Chaplain of the National Army” in 1933.

Ybycuí, its center of evangelism

In October 1933 he was reassigned to his parish of “Ybycuí and its Excusadurias”. In 1940 he was appointed Parish Priest of the Parish of Villarrica, and finally the diocesan bishop returned him to his parish of Ybycuí where he remained until his death in 1943.

The construction of the Ybycuí Hospital was promoted by Father Julio. In 1936 he acquired a property and built the Parish House. He ordered the construction of the “Hogar San José” for orphaned or abandoned children; in 1941, he arranged for the arrival of the “Daughters of Mercy of the Third Order of Saint Francis” sisters in Buenos Aires.

He built the new Church of Ybycuí, organizing all the inhabitants to collaborate with materials or work. He directed the construction of the Temples of Quyquyhó and Mbuyapey, and chapels in places like Cordillerita, Pereira-cué, Pasó Paré, Palacio-cué, Isla Pa’ũ, Isla Alta, Roaruguá, etc. He assumed the presidency of the Commission for the Promotion and Work of Ybycuí to repair the road from Quiindy to Ybycuí and to help the inhabitants to market their products.

Mysticism of Father Julio

Father Julio, in addition to his community activism, devoted long hours to prayer. God revealed his mission to him until the hour of his death. An elderly woman who was sick told him: “Father, I am going to die! I am afraid, very afraid of death! I do not want to die yet! Help me, Father, pray to God to restore my health!” The priest calmly responded, “Madam, there is no reason to be afraid of death. Death is a blessing sent to us by God, because it is a liberation for the truly Christian soul. I too will die within three years.” And precisely three years after this premonition, she died.

He died of typhus. He had contracted it while giving anointing to a young soldier who had just arrived from Asunción. His death occurred on July 4, 1943 at the age of 37, causing sadness and consternation among the masses.

Testimonials

Ronald Alonso and Geraldine Pedrozo are the parents of Lidia Giovanna. They claim that the birth of their daughter is the result of the intercession of Father Julio.

“For us, getting pregnant was a miracle. I had to follow a long treatment, since I only have one ovary. She came just when I had decided to stop taking the stimulation drugs and I said: Whatever God and Father Julio want, be it. At that time we already entrusted ourselves to the priest,” recalls the mother, who gave birth at 36 years old.

Between pregnancy check-ups, they received a diagnosis of high risk of Down syndrome from two laboratories. Another problem was the mother’s high blood pressure. Against all medical advice and predictions, these devoted parents saw the birth of a completely healthy baby girl.

The gynecologist said as she left the operating room: “I can’t believe it, I’ve never seen this in all these long years.” The testimony was collected by journalist Karina Godoy from the newspaper Última Hora.

A Traveling Nuncio

In April 2024, the new Apostolic Nuncio of His Holiness the Pope, Vicenzo Turturro, arrived in Paraguay. The diplomatic representative of the Vatican State in Paraguay is 45 years old, born in Bari, Italy, and in a few months he has traveled to various cities in Paraguay, officiating mass. The bishops and priests admire the humility and dynamism of the new Nuncio, who presided in Ybycui over the mass in honor of Father Julio César Duarte Ortellado, in clear Spanish.