Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Viatorians in Colombia

It was 60 years ago this month that a delegation of three Viatorian priests were dispatched to the Archdiocese of Bogotá in Colombia. They answered a call from Pope John XXIII, who in 1961 called for religious congregations to help evangelize Latin America. According to historical documents, Colombia was chosen over El Salvador and Guatemala, in part because it offered the chance to open a secondary school and in time, provide vocations. Some 60 years later, Viatorians have their own namesake parish in Bogotá, San Viator Parish, have two award-winning schools and help out at numerous parishes.

Fr. Burt Mayer, Fr. Thomas Wise and Fr. James Crilly were commissioned by Bishop Cletus O’Donnell before Fr. James Crilly returned in 2013 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Colegio leaving in 1961 to start the Viatorian foundation. San Viator in Bogota. The founding fathers who established the foundation included Fr. James Crilly, CSV, Fr. Thomas Wise, CSV, and Fr. Burt Mayr, CSV, who all now are deceased. Knowing no Spanish and little about their new country, they arrived by boat in Barranquilla on Sept. 27, 1961. Their assignment? To start a Catholic secondary school that ultimately would lead to more teachers of the faith.

Viatorian vocations are growing in Colombia, as seen here: L-R: Br. Juan David Ramirez, Br. Parmenio Enrique Medina, Br. Juan Carlos Ubaque,

Br. Jhobany Orduz, Fr. Pedro Herrera, Br. Luis Peroza, Fr. Fredy Contreras, Fr. Edwin Ruiz, Br. Edwin Barreto, Br. Elkin Mendoza.

The campus of Colegio San Viator in Tunja.

Less than two years later they opened Colegio San Viator in prefabricated classrooms. Its 32 students were taught by five Viatorian priests and one lay teacher. “It was a wonderful opportunity for Viatorians in the Province of Chicago to implant the charism of Fr. Louis Querbes,” says Fr. Pedro Herrera, CSV, who attended the colegio, graduating in 1968, before joining the Viatorians as the community’s first native Colombian.

“Fr. Querbes’ ministry of serving the poor was something they took into account from the beginning, creating the Scholarship Program to allow all students to receive the same education that those with more economic means received,” Fr. Herrera adds. “This program served as a model for the national government, whose leaders made it a requirement for many schools to give this opportunity to children and young people of limited economic resources.” Nearly 60 years later, Colegio San Viator is award-winning, with an enrollment of more than 1,000 students. Its faith-based, bilingual model — and certified as an International Baccalaureate school — have made it one of the top ranked schools in the country – and led to a second Viatorian school, Colegio San Viator in Tunja. The establishment of the foundation in Colombia also has led to many vocations. In fact, Colombia is one of the leading sources of vocations in the Viatorian Community.

Fr. Herrera, the first, who now serves as president of Colegio San Viator in Tunja, says vocations came as a result of young men meeting the 17 Viatorians from the Province of Chicago who served in the country, especially in its formative years. Currently, there are 18 professed Colombian religious in the Viatorian Community — and it is still growing, with Br. Diego Carvajal having started his year in the novitiate in March.

More than 1,000 students attend Colegio San Viator in Bogota, shown here in 2017.

The fine arts building on the campus of Colegio San Viator in Bogota.