PASTORAL WORK

Mr. Carlos López Bonifacio

This priest of the diocese of Huancavelica, located in the Andean mountain range of Peru, the poorest area of the country. The vocation of Don Carlos López Bonifacio is closely linked to music, since it was what attracted him to the Church since he was a child and made him know this call of God. Now, as a priest, he teaches numerous children through a choir that is constantly growing and with which they address God in Spanish and Quechua, the languages of his people, and in Latin, the language of the Church.
Don Carlos López Bonifacio - Peru - Pastoral Tours

Mr. Carlos López Bonifacio, 42 years old and ordained almost 18 years ago, studied for two years in Pamplona thanks to a CARF scholarship through which he was able to obtain a degree in Philosophy at the University of Navarra.

He will never forget his time in Spain between 2007 and 2009. He experienced the best and the worst. He was able to enjoy his studies and a culture he longed to know, but at the same time he almost died in a car bomb attack by the terrorist group ETA in 2008 at the University of Navarra. He was one of the injured who had to be hospitalized due to the attack.

Interview with Mr. Carlos López Bonifacio

He talks about his time in Spain, the formation he received in Pamplona, as well as his own vocation and the importance that music has had in his life and also in the history of the Church:

What is the land like where you come from?

I am from Huancavelica, in the Andean region of Peru. Here there are towns that exceed four thousand meters above sea level, although there are also valleys and ravines. In general it is a cold area. During the viceroyalty there was an important mining activity and the splendid baroque temples that we have are the result of the economic bonanza of that time. At present we are still struggling to stop being the poorest department of Peru.

And religiously speaking?

In terms of faith there are areas that are more religious than others. Several factors have influenced this, but the towns that had permanent priestly attention are noted of those who were occasionally attended to by the few priests there were.

I see that music is a fundamental part of your life, Don Carlos, where does this hobby come from and why?

Music several of us priests learned it during our seminary formation. minor. Our bishop promoted a music school for the acolyte children. Because of our love for music, we were getting closer to the minor seminary where this school operated. Actually, I am a priest and music is a hobby that serves as an apostolic hook.

What does and should music bring to the Church?

Music is a sublime art that is not necessarily reserved for those who pursue a musical career. From Pythagoras through the medieval quadrivium to the present day, musical sensitivity has been considered an important aspect in the formation of the person. Music awakens the taste for aesthetics as a path that leads us to Infinite Beauty. In this sense, good music is a place of encounter with God. This is why the Pope encourages us to recover the "via pulchritudinis" in evangelization (Evangelii Gaudium, 167).

What about the liturgy?

There is no doubt that music is not merely a marginal adornment but an essential part of the liturgy. Our praise of God requires singing. God deserves the best and music is meant to express the ineffable. This was well understood by the first missionaries who reached the hearts of the natives with beautiful melodies in Quechua that endure to this day.

An example is the Hanaq Pachap, a processional hymn to the Virgin Mary, which is the first polyphony in Quechua in Peru (1631), composed in Cuzco and which continues to resound in our temples with great majesty.

Don Carlos López Bonifacio - Peru - Pastoral Tours
Don Carlos López Bonifacio - Peru - Pastoral Tours
Don Carlos celebrating Mass at his parish
Don Carlos López Bonifacio - Peru - Pastoral Tours
Don Carlos with the choir
Don Carlos López Bonifacio - Peru - Pastoral Tours
Mr. Carlos López Bonifacio

You are the promoter of the Acolyte Choir, can you tell us about it and with what intentions did you create it?

The choir was created to participate in the Christmas carol festivals but since we did well we decided to make videos with Christmas carols in Quechua. In this way we evangelize through social networks spreading our culture, our language and traditions following what the Pope asked us: "do not forget your roots".

There are already seven Christmas videos recorded. You can find them on YouTube and on our web page Coro de Acolitos. Last year we were invited to sing at the blessing ceremony of the Peruvian Nativity Scene at the Vatican. Due to the pandemic our presentation was virtual, but it has been a great joy for our children and their families.

Now we want the choir to be an Escolania to cultivate Quechua and Latin chants. We have obtained two pipe organs for our minor and major seminaries. Priestly formation must start from the bottom, since what one learns as a child remains forever.

How did you receive the faith and did your vocation to the priesthood emerge?

God made use of people who showed me faith in Christ by their witness. The Spanish missionary priests and, especially, our Irish bishop influenced my vocation. As a young boy I was an acolyte and often went to the minor seminary because the music school was there. Then I entered the minor seminary where I found a wonderful formative environment and a climate of spirituality that led me to consider a vocation to the priesthood. At the age of sixteen I entered the recently created major seminary in my diocese. We were the third graduating class. The years in the seminary were beautiful, of much growth and maturation of my vocation.

 You have studied in Pamplona, what has your experience been like?

Three years after my priestly ordination, thanks to my bishop, I continued my formation at the University of Navarra and completed my studies to obtain a Licentiate in Philosophy from the Ecclesiastical Faculty. I have a pleasant experience of what I lived at the academic level and of what I shared with my companions in a magnificent priestly environment.

Can you tell us about your time in Spain?

All good for Spain. There is a lot of cultural closeness because Spain is our Motherland where the origins of our cultural fusion are. Knowing closely the rich historical, cultural and religious tradition opens horizons to better understand our Christian roots and the future of a world that seems to have lost its way.

Don Carlos López Bonifacio - Peru - Pastoral Tours
"I would like to thank you for making the formation of priests possible. Your generosity is for the good of the whole Church. I encourage you to continue to collaborate so that the formation of many priests becomes a reality for the benefit of all. I thank you also for your prayers that we may persevere in our vocation. ".
Mr. Carlos López Bonifacio

However, he had to suffer a very difficult situation...

What left me with a dark memory was the ETA attack at the University in 2008 because I almost died. The bomb exploded next to our classroom. A fellow Filipino priest and I, among others injured, were hospitalized at the University Clinic. Fortunately, we are alive to tell the tale. The attack reminded me of the Shining Path that we also lived through in Peru.

Why do you think it is important to receive a good formation as a priest like the one you have received?

One is their formation and the present times, as the Church demands, require priests capable of rising to the challenges of today, illuminating with the light of the Gospel to guide people to God. The objective is to serve others better. That is what we were formed for and that makes us happy. The priest will always be on the front line of the battle against evil. That is why he must be prepared.

Don Carlos López Bonifacio - Peru - Pastoral Tours

Don Carlos, could you tell us about your best moments as a priest?

As a child I was baptized in danger of death by a priest. Over the years, as a young priest, I was able to give my last communion and anointing of the sick to this elderly priest who had baptized me. It was like returning the favor and taking the baton. I was very impressed to see him spent years serving God.

On the other hand, as the years go by, one is amazed by the experiences lived in the exercise of the priestly ministry. Especially administering confession and celebrating the Holy Eucharist fills the priest's life. It is literally supernatural. One can feel the action of God. When I look back I am surprised and thank God for my vocation and ask forgiveness for my sins.

What is the reality of a priest in an increasingly secularized world like the one in which we live and specifically in your mission in this society?

The priest will always be necessary and in a special way for the times in which we live because he is a sign of God's presence in this world. In some environments the priest is rejected and his presence is uncomfortable because of the scandals that have occurred in various places. Even so, if the priest is faithful, his life questions the faith of others. My experience is that the priest is received here as a sign of blessing and people believe in his word and value his dedication. I see that people, without knowing it, are eagerly in need of God. No one, not even we, can exempt ourselves from this desire in our hearts. Only the priest can give them God.

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