Fr. Mariano de Blas, LC, was the one who initiated the Regnum Christi in Chile. At the end of the 1970s, he traveled from Mexico to give formation to young women attracted by the Regnum Christi charism. ’I was very moved because 43 years ago I had to start Regnum Christi from scratch with a group of girls from the Villa María school,“ he says. Father Mariano will celebrate 50 years of priesthood on December 24.
Father Mariano de Blas, LC, is a native of San Bartolomé de Pinares, a Spanish town located in the province of Avila. He was born into a Catholic family where he grew up with five other brothers and a sister. His current work in Chile is to support the gentlemen's sections of Las Condes and La Dehesa, so he can be seen frequently in Piedra Roja.
During his almost five decades of priesthood he has performed different tasks, most of them in Mexico, with a break of nine years of pastoral service in the United States. Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, director of the Saltillo section, director of the Saltillo section, director of the Guadalajara section, coordinator of the apostolate, director of the CEYCA school, director of the Monterrey section, superior and director of the San Luis Potosí section, chaplain of the Andes College San Luis Potosi; chaplain of the ladies in Piedras Negras and Nuevo Laredo, and chaplain of one of the three Mano Amiga Schools of Monterrey.
How did you get to know Regnum Christi and the Legionaries of Christ?
I met the legion when I was 10 years old and I thought about vocation at that age because of a game of little flowers. I was walking down a little street in my town and suddenly I saw a boy, about 12 years old, who was playing the parable of the souls that go to heaven, and he had a lot of flowers, and there was a little canal that was life and at the end two puddles that were heaven and hell. There were some flowers that went to heaven and everyone applauded and others went to hell and everyone became serious. I immediately participated in the game. Once we all went back to our homes, I started thinking about how I could make all those souls, the flowers, go to heaven and the answer was to be a priest. That is how the beginning of my vocation crossed my mind.
Was your discernment process very difficult?
It didn't cost me anything, on the contrary, I felt like the happiest child in the world. And now, after so many years, I am still in the same dynamic of the game, except that now the flowers are concrete souls, those who listen to the radio, whom I have attended in Mexico and now in Chile.
What attracted you to Regnum Christi?
Because I wanted to be a priest, to save souls, I did not know the Legionaries of Christ. It was in the apostolate that I came to know and love the Legion and Regnum Christi. Regnum Christi was born when I was studying theology in Rome, I was attracted by its spirituality, its great works, its affection for the Pope, its love for Christ and Mary.
Its relationship with Chile
At the end of the 1970s, while he was living his vocation as director of the girls“ section in Mexico City, he began to visit Chile with the idea of making the charism known to young women. It all came about because of the interest of Paca Rodriguez, a Chilean who had lived in Mexico and who, upon returning to Chile, began to share her experience at Regum Christi in Mexico City with her schoolmates. ”God intervened because he wanted this movement to begin in this country,“ she says. When some of the girls from Mexico came to our country to help, she explains that they would put a map of Chile filled with small pieces of paper with resolutions, which had to be clean when they returned. Regnum Christi transforms people. In July ”78 the first young women were incorporated and then in December of that year a larger group of 29 students from the Villa Maria School. The ceremony took place in San Francisco de Mostazal, on a farm belonging to the Huidobro family.
Its incursion into the media
Father Mariano has been with us for 18 years. Guadeloupe Radio, where he currently hosts the program “La alegría de vivir”, where he reflects on Catholicism and its link to love. In addition, he has written 19 books, edited many compact discs and podcast. He arrived in the media world by making TV capsules in Saltillo, which he later made in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico.
You have had a program on Guadalupe Radio for 18 years. What role do you see the media playing in the evangelization of society?
They are very helpful. In Los Angeles I saw thousands of people who approached the sacraments, who recovered their love for the Catholic Church, for their marriages and even helped them to live their faith with joy. I think it is the apostolate that gathers more people: from Tijuana to San Diego, and north to San Jose, California.
¿P. Mariano, do you have any new project in this line?
I am going to write a book called “Characters of the Bible” where I have them talk about their own lives and apply their testimonies to our lives. I am also going to continue with the Guadalupe Radio programs, and I plan to bring some books edited in Los Angeles to offer them here.
Where to listen to your program
You must download the Guadalupe Radio App from Google Play o Aple Store. Then enter your personal data, go to the bottom of the screen, choose Live (audio video) or Podcast and give you play. Another alternative is from their website: www.guadaluperadio.com.
