Consuelo Verdugo and Cata Quiroga

Consuelo Verdugo and Cata Quiroga, both long-serving members of the Manquehue Apostolic Movement (MAM), visited the Abbey this past week on a pastoral visit to the winter group, to support them in their mission within the School. Consuelo notes that the group, while arriving in January, has in fact “been working for over six months.” In helping them understand and develop their involvement, she has reminded them that they fit into a larger arc of MAM involvement at Portsmouth. “There have been more than 14 groups that have come to Portsmouth, so they are part of a living chain,” their present work continuing on the foundation built before them. Consuelo has found the visit to be a blessing, to have been able “to share this life with these young women and to be nourished by their testimony of joy, faith and courage.” She is grateful for the involvement of the MAM group with the monastic community, both in the spiritual practices of praying the divine office and coming to daily Mass, as well as in joining them for Sunday dinner, feeling truly welcomed. As this group fits into a “living chain,” so too is the Portsmouth mission joined to a wider commitment to various schools of the English Benedictine Congregation (EBC). MAM groups have been active for a number of years at St. Louis Priory School, as well as with schools in the United Kingdom, having visited these communities and often hosted visitors in Chile as well. MAM has been officially affiliated with the EBC, with the spirituality of its founder, Jose Manuel Eguiguren, deeply rooted in his relationship with the English communities, notably Ampleforth Abbey.

Consuelo’s personal journey with MAM began as student at San Benito School in Santiago, the first of the MAM schools. “I got to know the Manquehue movement in school, but it was after several years than I truly encountered Christ in his Word, and it completely changed my life.” Consuelo discovered a vocation and a call from God to make a complete commitment to MAM. She now is helping administer various spiritual programs, based in Santiago but often having to travel to its various mission groups. The Movement has a strong sense of community and unity, “realizing that no matter what we are all doing or what our mission or particular work may be, we are all working for the same purpose.” That mission is most fundamentally evangelization, “sharing our experience of the risen Christ with others. There are so many people thirsting for meaning in life, for a relationship with Christ, and that is the gift we would like to share. As it has been a gift for us, so we too need to share it.” Consuelo has shared this message with us at Portsmouth, in addition to having been to England repeatedly, three times visiting Ampleforth, and for three years working at Downside. While this meant extensive time away from home, “it was a huge gift” and “an extraordinary possibility to share our faith and experience of Christ.”

Consuelo also Iived for eight years at the Movement’s remote retreat center in Patagonia. While much of the life there is a more cloistered and contemplative experience, the center also welcomes many groups of young people on extended retreats, some lasting several months. Here too, Consuelo finds it a blessing to be able to welcome so many young people open to spiritual experience. It was for her an “opportunity to make such good friends in Christ.” The program at Patagonia, while situated in its remote and beautiful setting, is very similar to what the young women at Portsmouth experience: the Divine Office, Lectio, and work. The work, rather than cultivating Lectio amongst students, entails farm work and physical maintenance of the Patagonian “monastery.” Consuelo has a longstanding relationship with Portsmouth, joining the original exploratory group to visit Portsmouth in 2011, planting the initial seeds for the “living chain” that was to follow over the subsequent years. She speaks warmly of this enduring friendship: “So many people love this place, a place where so many Manquehue members have encountered God and made good friends, with monks and teachers and students. It is a very special place, where we have learned to pray and love the Eucharist. It is also a place where we have shared the word of God and that has made us grow in faith.”

Ignacio & Clara

Also an alumna of Manquehue schools, Cata first visited Portsmouth for two months in 2017, having recently become engaged to Alvaro Gazmuri. This experience of leading a group of seven young women through a much snowier winter was only the beginning. “Later that year, in September 2017, I married Alvaro. One day before our wedding someone from Manquehue asked us if we would be interested on staying for an extended period of time at Portsmouth. We prayed about this on our honeymoon.” Their answer was yes, and they began their married life with us here at Portsmouth, arriving in January of 2018 and staying for two years, the mission here at the center of their early married life. This time also witnessed the birth of their daughter Clara, now three years old and the elder sister of Ignacio, age 2. The couple remain deeply involved in the Movement’s pastoral efforts, both of them working with the young people of the Manquehue community, with over 300 young people involved in different areas of Manquehue: Lectio Divina groups, participating on retreats, trips to Patagonia, community service. Cata notes that the media-savvy can stay updated on the work via Instagram (@jovenes_manquehue). Cata is happy to now be living just a ten-minute drive from her parents. “My sisters and my mother really enjoy spending time with the kids and for us is so helpful to have them around.” She and Alvaro will often tell their children stories of their time in Portsmouth. Cata remarks that while their location and community is different now, “our style of life is quite the same.” Cata’s family has itself had deep roots in the Manquehue movement, with both of her parents oblates of Manquehue, which involves a substantial and lifelong commitment within the community. The promises of Manquehue oblates include the same three vows made by Benedictine monks: obedience, stability, and conversatio morem. Two of her siblings have also joined winter groups at Portsmouth, actively involved in the MAM mission of evangelization.