Maximiano Valdés Subercaseaux (23 September 1908 – 4 January 1982) - in religious Francisco - was a Chilean

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate who was a professed member from the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

and served as the first Bishop of Osorno from 1956 until his death. Valdés discerned his call to the priesthood while with his parents in

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and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a priest in

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after completing his studies in

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but continued further formation amongst the Franciscans in Europe before making his return to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. He was the first Chilean to have become a Capuchin friar. Valdés dedicated his episcopal career to the poor and he often visited the poor regions around his diocese while remaining a staunch advocate for a peaceful resolution to the Chile-

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

border disputes; his last words also contained a desire for there to be peace between the two feuding nations. The cause for his beatification was launched in 1998 and titled him as a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

while

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

declared Valdés to be

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 7 November 2014 after recognizing his life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

Life

Education and priesthood

Maximiano María Antonio Miguel Valdés Subercaseaux was born on 23 September 1908 in

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

in the Santiago Province as the second of five children to Horacio Valdés Ortúzar (12.3.1878-22.6.1957) and Blanca Subercaseaux Errázuriz (1885-???). His parents were married on 12 September 1906 and were devout Christians. His siblings were: * Margarita (4.10.1912-28.8.1994) * María * Blanca *

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

(3.7.1919-7.9.2011) His brother Gabriel served as the

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and later the Senate President while his son (Valdés' nephew)

Juan Gabriel Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; 7 January 1950 – 28 August 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter and actor. Colloquially Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, ...

serves as the current Chilean ambassador to the

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since 2014. His

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

was celebrated on 24 September. He received a special dispensation from

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

to have his

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...

before the required age and the celebration was held on 30 March 1913 while he received his

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

on 11 April 1914 from Archbishop Juan Ignacio González Eyzaguirre. Valdés began his schooling at the San Ignacio school. In 1925 he travelled to

with his parents where he first felt called to the priesthood and to the religious life. On 26 January 1930 he became the first native from his nation to join the

when he was received into their

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

and he was given the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

of "Francisco of San Miguel de Santiago". He began his ecclesial studies in

in 1927 at the

Pontifical Latin American college The Pontifical Latin American College (Italian: ''Pontificio Collegio Pio Latino Americano'', Spanish: ''Pontificio Colegio Pio Latino Americano'') is one of the Roman Colleges of the Roman Catholic Church, for students from Central and South A ...

and the Pontifical Gregorian in Rome before he received his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 17 March 1934 in

from Bishop Giovanni Jeremich. He had received a philosophical doctorate from the Gregorian in 1929 and later earned one for theological studies during the 1930s. Valdés made his first vows into the order on 27 January 1931 and continued his formation across both

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

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before he made his perpetual and solemn profession on 2 February 1934. In 1935 - now back in Chile - he was assigned to the

Apostolic Vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of Araucanía - a remote region - and served as a professor of philosophical studies at San Fidel in

San José de la Mariquina Mariquina is a commune in southern Chile, Valdivia Province, Los Ríos Region. It is located about 40 km northeast of Valdivia, close to Cruces River. The capital is the city of San José de la Mariquina. The commune's main economic activ ...

. He served as the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

for

Pucón Pucón (Mapudungun: "entrance to the cordillera") is a Chilean city and commune administered by the municipality of Pucón. It is located in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region, 100 km to the southeast of Temuco and 780 km to ...

between 1943 and 1956. During that period he helped to establish a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

for the

Capuchin Poor Clares The Capuchin Poor Clares () is a Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for women founded in Naples, Italy, in 1538, by Blessed Maria Lorenza Longo. The order still exists and it now has communities in the United States. Members are referre ...

in his parish while also working and maintaining close ties with the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

people.

Episcopate

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

appointed Valdés as the first Bishop of Osorno on 20 June 1956 with

Sebastiano Baggio Sebastiano Baggio (16 May 1913 – 21 March 1993) was an Italian cardinal, often thought to be a likely candidate for election to the papacy. He served as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Gover ...

conferring upon him

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on 16 September. Valdés attended all sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

from 11 October 1962 to 8 December 1965 as a Council Father. He was an ardent supporter and staunch advocate for dialogue and peace between Chile and

in their border dispute and made repeated calls for fraternal negotiations aimed at ensuring better cooperation and coexistence between the two nations. Valdés loved sacred music and liturgical celebrations and in 1966 presided over an Episcopal Commission on liturgical celebration to better enhance such celebrations as an expression of faith. He inaugurated the new diocesan cathedral in 1977 after the previous one had fallen during the Valdivia earthquake in 1960.

Death

Valdés was diagnosed in 1981 with

gastric cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes ...

. He spent his last months with the Capuchin friars of Araucanía. He died in 1982 at the San Francisco Hospital in Pucón; his last words were: "I offer my life to the pope, to the Church, to the Diocese of Osorno, to the poor, to the peace between Chile and Argentina, and to the triumph of love". He was buried in the diocesan cathedral.

Beatification process

The beatification process for the late friar commenced under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 25 September 1998 after the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

issued the official edict of "

nihil obstat (Latin for 'nothing hinders' or 'nothing stands in the way') is a phrase traditionally used by Catholic Church authorities to formally declare that there is no objection to the publication of a book. It also has other uses. Publishing The ...

" (nothing against the cause) and titled him as a

. The investigation commenced in Osorno in a diocesan process that collected testimonies and documents and the C.C.S. later validated this process in Rome on 7 June 2002 after determining the process did all that was required of it. The postulation appointed a relator who would assist in preparing the

Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

dossier in an effort to collate all available evidence to attest to the friar's saintliness and this was submitted to the C.C.S. on 29 November 2012. Theologians evaluated the contents of the dossier and issued their approval for the cause on 18 March 2014 while the cardinal and bishop members of the C.C.S. likewise assented to the cause's continuation in their meeting on 4 November 2014. The cause culminated on 7 November 2014 after

confirmed that Valdés lived a model life of

and named him as

. The current

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

for this cause is the Franciscan priest Carlo Calloni.

Failed miracle

His beatification depended on a miracle being approved and one such case had been investigated in the diocese of its origin; the C.C.S. later validated this in Rome on 16 November 2007 but could not investigate it further until Valdés had been proclaimed Venerable as was the requirement. The medical experts advising the C.C.S. met on 21 May 2015 to determine if the healing was a miracle but found it was not a miracle due to a scientific explanation being evident for such a healing.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdés Subercaseaux, Francisco 1908 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Chile 20th-century venerated Christians Capuchins Deaths from stomach cancer in Chile Participants in the Second Vatican Council People from Santiago Province, Chile Venerated Catholics by Pope Francis Subercaseaux family Roman Catholic bishops of Osorno