In Pace Christi

Victor was born in the parish of Santa María de Uribarri, in Durango, in the province of Vizcaya, in northern Spain, on October 5, 1948, into a very Catholic family. Already as a boy, he wanted to become a missionary and entered the Apostolic School that the Comboni Missionaries run in Corella. On 6^th September 1969, he commenced his novitiate in Moncada. Two years later, on 15^th August 1971, he took his first religious vows.

To study philosophy, he remained in Moncada until June 1973 and then moved to the scholasticate of Granada for theological studies. On 16^th August 1975, Victor was in Limone sul Garda, on the occasion of a meeting of Comboni scholastics studying in the international scholasticates of Europe. In the chapel of Comboni’s birthplace, he had the happy opportunity to renew his temporary vows in front of Father Enrico Farè, long-time provincial superior of Spain, but recently appointed superior of the Mother House of Verona, who had come to Limone as a delegate of the Superior General.

On 8^th December 1976, Victor made his final profession and on 3^rd April 1977, he was ordained a priest in the parish of Durango by Msgr. Juan Maria Uriarte, auxiliary bishop of Bilbao. Several times and insistently, he asked to be able to leave for the mission immediately after ordination, but he has already received an official assignment to the province of Spain from Father Tarcisio Agostoni, as of 1^st July. Victor, therefore, went to Santiago de Compostela, where he was the bursar of the community and formator in the minor seminary for just over a year, and then, until 1982, he was placed in charge of vocation promotion.

In March 1983, the letter finally arrived from Father Salvatore Calvia, Superior General, with the long-awaited news of his departure for the mission. He was appointed to the then Comboni province of Central Africa-Chad. Victor, after a short updating course, went to Paris to study French. Before the end of the year, he went to Tokoyo, a suburb of Bangassou, the centre of the diocese of the same name, to learn the local language. He stayed there for three years, engaged in ministry, and then moved to the parish-mission of Boda, in the diocese of Bangui, first as bursar, then as parish priest, until June 1992.

After he had spent ten years in Central Africa, his major superiors proposed that he return to Spain, after a renewal course in Rome.

In 1998 he again obtained the green light for the mission and returned to Central Africa, appointed to the Grimari mission, where there was also a catechetical centre. He remained there for four years.

In 1999, Victor returned home for health reasons, recovered and returned to Grimari for a short period. In October 2002 he went to Trento for a period of rest and remained there until September 2003. After a few months of family vacation, he returned to Central Africa, assigned to the parish of Mbata in the diocese of M’Baïki, where he worked in ministry and was also the community bursar.

On 18^th December 2005, he returned home, assigned to the community of Palencia. Six months later, he moved to Santiago de Compostela, in charge of missionary animation. In 2008, he was a member of the Moncada community and remained there until January 2014, when he was called to Madrid, to the provincial residence.

In April 2019, his health forced him to retire permanently to the Centre for the Elderly and Sick in Moncada. He found it necessary to remain either in bed or in a wheelchair. He died on 24^th October 2023, surrounded by the care and prayers of his confreres. On the 25^th, in the chapel of the Moncada community, the funeral mass was celebrated, presided over by Father Miguel Ángel Llamazares, provincial superior of Spain. In addition to members of the community and numerous friends, six brothers and two nephews of Father Victor were also present. (F.M.)