Father Julio Navarro Román a.a. passed away on Wednesday, March 13. A Mass in his memory was celebrated at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, at the Basilica of Lourdes in Santiago.
Fr. Julio knew the Augustinians of the Assumption since he was a child. He did his primary studies in the Apostolic School of the Assumptionists, in the town of Mendoza, in Rengo. At a very young age he entered the Congregation, made his first profession of religious life on March 10, 1959 and was ordained priest on August 10, 1966.
He was distinguished for his studies abroad: Licentiate in Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Licentiate and Doctorate in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. As a teacher he served at the Pontifical Major Seminary of Santiago, at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Chile and at the Catholic University of Valparaiso, as well as formator of his own Congregation.
Service to the Church
Fr. Julio Navarro developed an extensive pastoral work and service to the Church in popular sectors of the dioceses of Valparaíso, Santiago, Rancagua and Concepción, especially through the works of his Congregation. In Santiago, he worked in the parishes of Our Lady of the Angels, in Golf and in the Basilica of Lourdes, as well as in chapels in Pudahuel.
One of the most outstanding missions he fulfilled was that of President of the Conference of Religious of Chile (CONFERRE), between 1975 and 1981, and in the Center of Studies of CONFERRE where he was Director, between 1988 and 1989, and Coordinator and professor of Propaedeutic and Philosophy, from 1989 to 1998; working arduously, in conjunction with other Church organizations such as the Vicariate of Solidarity, in the defense and promotion of human rights, from an evangelical perspective. This earned him recognition from the Latin American Church, being elected in 1979 as vice-president of CLAR (Latin American Conference of Religious), a position in which he remained for two consecutive periods. He was also Provincial of Chile and Argentina of his Congregation from 1974-1983 and 1989-1995.
Fr. Julio Navarro leaves a great legacy not only to his Congregation and the communities in which he served [he had been Assistant to the General for many years], but to all men and women of faith, for his love for Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin, in the invocation of Lourdes; for his fidelity to the Church and for his strong commitment to evangelization, especially in the popular sectors through works as significant as the magazine El Eco de Lourdes and the pastoral of popular religiosity.
Condolences may be sent to Father Juan Carlos Marzolla, jmarzolla@provandina.com