Don José María Cabrero

May 2023

I feel great joy when I hear the news of the appointment as Favorite Son of Siétamo to Don José María Cabrero, parish priest of Alquézar, Radiquero, Colungo, San Pelegrin, Buera, Asque and many other towns and villages of the Sierra de Guara, I think there are twenty-one.

My congratulations go to Don José María and also to that Municipal Corporation for such a brilliant initiative.

In Don José María we find an endearing person, a priest by vocation, a zoologist by profession and a connoisseur like few others of the Cultural and Artistic Heritage of the Sierra de Guara. His cultural background is enormous, it is a pleasure to talk to him because of his knowledge of architecture, art in general and not to mention the zoology of this area.

He has been concerned and worked like no one else in the reconstruction and conservation of the churches and hermitages that we have and in the recovery and restoration of many of the works of art that were very deteriorated or lost. Thanks to their work and tenacity, it has been possible to save a good part of the current artistic heritage of the Sierra de Guara.

Throughout these nearly forty years that we have enjoyed its presence, it has energized life in these towns by organizing sports tournaments, excursions, romerias and celebrations and promoting coexistence among the neighbours.

His social work, given his humility and discretion, has not transcended so much, but those of us who know him know that he has always been with those who have had a problem, there has been no need to resort to him, he has always anticipated, offering his material help and his word of comfort to everyone.

This does not mean that he has neglected his spiritual mission. I see Don José María always in a hurry, full of energy, with his Ibiza, from one village to another, from one hamlet to another, bringing the Word of God and his to all those people who are so scattered or in nuclei of two or three inhabitants. But he arrives there, bringing his spiritual help to everyone, there he spends some time and throws the "charradeta" (informal talk) with them, he does not waste the opportunity to talk about the weather, the harvest, the family...

Within their spiritual work has been the recovery of ancient religious traditions, processions, romerias and promotion of events in the old hermitages that in turn have served to increase the preservation of these and communication between the people of these towns. The Alquezar Procession is the culmination of a spectacular and emotional Religious Act, but let's not forget those other simpler but endearing ones that are celebrated in "its little villages", Radiquero Patronal Festivity and sung Masses of San Pelegrìn and San Gregorio, Palm Sunday processions and so many others.

His homilies, simple, brief, direct, didactic, are an example of his ability to transmit ideas with simplicity and easy to understand, he is listened to and understood, they give us a sample of his great training. It is also worth highlighting his pedagogical work as a teacher of Biology and Natural Sciences and tutor of Science students at the Alto Aragón School in Huesca. His former students always talk about him, have fond memories of him and always tell anecdotes.

Don José María, a wise and good man, studious, dedicated body and soul, stands out for his humanity, he has the recognition of the people of "his towns", practicing or not,  a dynamizer of them, it is a luxury to have him with us and I hope for many years to come. I know many people who on Sundays at twelve o'clock tell me LET'S GO TO MASS THAT WE CAN'T MAKE AN UGLY THING TO THE PRIEST.

My congratulations and those of my entire family for this recognition that, for sure, in his heart and despite his humility will have satisfied him.

JOSE MARIA SANAGUSTIN

Neighbourg of Radiquero

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