The San Ezequiel Moreno Foundation has celebrated its golden anniversary in Bogotá with a Eucharist of thanksgiving at the Church of La Candelaria, the place where this work was born in 1976. Half a century later, the institution continues to be a living sign of the Gospel in caring for cancer patients and their families, embodying the charism of the Augustinian Recollect Family.
50 Years of a Work Born from Compassion
Fifty years ago, in the prayerful silence of a Holy Thursday, Friar Sebastián López de Murga felt a concrete inspiration: to bring comfort to the poorest cancer patients. That intuition, simple and profoundly evangelical, became a work that today reaches thousands of people in Colombia.
The anniversary celebration took place in the same setting where it all began: the Church of La Candelaria in Bogotá. There, religious men and women, volunteers, benefactors, and beneficiaries gathered to give thanks for a history woven with concrete gestures of charity.
“The First Word Is Thank You”
During the Eucharist, presided over by Monsignor Edwin Raúl Vanegas Cuervo, Auxiliary Bishop of Bogotá and Vicar for Consecrated Life, one word resonated powerfully: gratitude.
“The first feeling that springs from the heart is thank you. Thank you to the Lord for so much good accomplished in these 50 years,” the bishop expressed, recalling that this work has been a faithful response to Christ’s call to care for “those who do not count: the sick, the abandoned.”
In his homily, he emphasized that the Foundation has its roots in the life of the early Christian communities, recognized for their concrete love for the most vulnerable. “What remained from the table—he said—belonged to the poor.” An evangelical logic that remains alive in this institution today.
Seeing Christ in the Face of the Sick
One of the most profound emphases of the celebration was the believing perspective on suffering.
Monsignor Vanegas recalled that those who have passed through the Foundation have not only received help, but have also been teachers: “In many of our sick brothers and sisters we have been able to see the face of Christ.”
This experience—he added—is what has allowed the work to remain firm over time, even amid difficulties: the certainty that serving the sick is serving Jesus himself.
A History Built by Many
The president of the Foundation, Ignacio Góngora, gave concrete faces to these 50 years: volunteers, benefactors, workers, and families who have made the mission possible.
He recalled the humble beginnings, when the founder visited a sick woman accompanied by two volunteers, bringing “above all comfort and spiritual support.”
Today, that seed has grown to serve more than 1,100 people and their families monthly in different cities across the country.
“All of this has been possible thanks to the generous and selfless help of so many,” he affirmed, highlighting that the Foundation’s identity as a work of the Church has been key to its permanence and growth.
A Spirituality That Sustains the Mission
The superior general of the Augustinian Recollect Sisters of the Sick, Sister Sofía López Acosta, recalled that this work is born from the spiritual heart of the Order and from the witness of Saint Ezequiel Moreno, who lived with cancer in faith and dedication.
“The Foundation was born here, in this holy place, as a work of love and bread,” she affirmed, emphasizing the profoundly spiritual dimension of this mission.
She also evoked those who were present at the beginning and those who have kept the flame alive for decades, many of them in silence, without seeking recognition.
A Jubilee That Invites Renewed Commitment
Like every jubilee, this celebration does not look only to the past. It is also a call to renew the mission.
The provincial vicar, Friar Juan Pablo Martínez, conveyed the message of the provincial prior, recalling that “50 years have passed, but the best is yet to come.” An affirmation that summarizes the spirit of the day: grateful memory and active hope.
In this vein, Monsignor Vanegas invited the Foundation to continue going out to the “existential peripheries,” where suffering isolates and hope weakens, especially in the realm of illness.
Continuing to Be a Sign of Mercy
The celebration concluded with a shared conviction: the San Ezequiel Moreno Foundation is not just an institution, but a sign. A credible sign that charity is possible, that God continues to act through those who place themselves at the service of the most fragile.
Fifty years later, that intuition born in prayer continues to bear fruit. And the Church in Colombia gives thanks to God for a work that continues to bring love and bread to those who need it most.
