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A VISIT WITH AN EXORCIST FRIEND
IN ANCHUELO, SPAIN : FATHER JOSE
ANTONIO FORTEA
I met father Fortea in Quito,
Ecuador earlier this year. While taking a walk with him in the country
side, we had agreed to meet later on during the Easter season in Spain
at his parish in the dioceses of Alcala, in the town of Anchuelo, Spain.
As I finished my mission in
Portugal, and while in transit to Colombia in Madrid, Spain, I called
father Fortea, and he came to pick me up at the Gran via of Madrid. He
was in the company of a friend from Switzerland , and the three of us
hurried through the streets of Madrid trying to catch the 6:00 p.m. mass
at his parish. His car was parked a little distance away, and I must say
that trying to catch up with these two young men wasn't easy. We finally
made it to the parking lot and rapidly took off from the city, and as we
were driving, father was giving us a wonderful historical account of
Madrid and Spain in general, and mostly related to Catholic history. It
was quite fascinating to find out how much of a faithful Catholic Franco
was and how he was able to save Spain from the communists that almost
destroyed the Catholic Church during the civil war. The account of this
history which I learned in Germany while going to school there in the
early 70's was completely different, most likely I got it from a
communist in Hamburg. I was not converted yet at that time. I learned so
many other things on the way to Anchuelo.
Father Fortea is a very structured
priest, one who has done his homework in everything that he studied, so
his conversation was very educational, animated and interesting, to say
the least.
After a good hour and a half, we
arrived at a very small town. An ancient place with the charm of
centuries of Spanish countryside history. We made it on time even though
it was after 6:00 p.m when we arrived, and the reason being, that it was
the day in which the old ladies of town usually clean the Church, and
when we got there, they were still cleaning. God was on our side.
The parish Church was the perfect
setting for an exorcist: a 16th century Church; small and as mysterious
and charming as can be. It has such a precious altar, and every detail
throughout the church was magnificent.
I noticed a few cars parked
outside the Church, in which the demeanor of the people in them was a
little unusual. Later on, after Mass, I understood why.
Father went into the sacristy to
prepare himself for the celebration of the Mass, and his Swiss friend
and I went and sat in the Church to pray. A few other people came into
the Church after that. I saw them come in without turning my head to
look, and I just remained in prayer.
Father's homily at Mass really
surprised me because it was dedicated to all of the people around the
world in the Catholic Church that dedicated themselves to the cleaning
of the temples. He was acknowledging them and saying how important their
jobs were. Even though it was a very unusual homily, it made all the
sense in the world, and I happily accepted it.
Right after the Mass was over,
father exposed the Blessed Sacrament and put on his black cloak with the
hood over his head. He called some people who were sitting in the back
and asked them to sit in the front pew. He then prayed for each one of
us remaining in the Church; all together about 5 people. The rest had
walked away after the Mass was over. He came back to the front and
standing in the middle right in front of the foot of the altar, he began
to sing in Latin and in tongues, then he sat in between the people he
had called to the front pew and spoke in their ears for a bit. Every one
of those sitting in front reacted with very demonic sounds and voices
began to speak, all in different sounds and noises. I then came to my
senses and recalled that I was visiting a priest friend who was an
exorcist and as a matter of fact, one of the most renowned ones in the
world. It was like landing on a tough reality.
Through my apostolate I have been
in many exorcism sessions with exorcists from the Vatican and other
places around the world, but this time I was taken by surprise, because
I got so involved in the pleasant drive with father and with his
instructive conversation to the extent that I forgot all about his
mission.
The whole session lasted probably
one hour maximum. Apparently a young girl was completely delivered but
the rest of the patients were still to continue coming for other
sessions later on. Some of them come from foreign countries.
Father invited me and his Swiss
friend to dinner in Alcala. A beautiful city filled with history. One of
the first pleasant surprises was to find out that Alcala is the home of
many storks. I had never seen one in person. It was night time and they
were all in their nest. They make their nest on top of the steeples of
the Catholic Churches. The nests are gigantic and weigh a lot, and
sometimes they cause damage to the steeples. It was quite and exciting
sight, one that is not very commonly seen anywhere, as a matter of fact,
I almost thought that storks were a legend, it was great to meet them
personally.
As we walked through town and
father was filling us with remarkable stories about it, we passed by a
small chapel. Father turned back and went into the chapel then came
right back out to call us in. He told us that this chapel's door is
never open; it was the university of Alcala´s chapel; one of the oldest
universities in the world, and therefore, a very old chapel too. There
was a classical concert being held by a university group of about 30
musicians and singers. They were performing magnificent pieces of music
with wonderful classical singing. We stayed at the back of the chapel,
and listened to at least four pieces. It was like a true piece of
heaven.
We came back out and went to one
of father's favorite restaurants in town. He treated us to dinner and
close to midnight after a lovely and very entertaining dinner we hurried
to catch the last train to Madrid.
I must say that visiting with
father Fortea was a very unique experience. I asked him for permission
to write this article which is long due to be published.
Let's pray for father Fortea, so
that he remains strong, protected and faithful to his powerful and
anointed ministry.
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This Diary has been built in order to create a more practical source of information as to my mission itinerary. I'll continue to update the information as I travel along and will also share some of the testimonies of my daily experiences on the mission trail. I'll appreciate your comments and suggestions.
October 28
Missionary's Reflection
October 27
Venezuela
October 20
Colombia
September 25
Ireland,
Scotland & UK
August 22
England
June17
Malaysia,
Philippines, Thailand
May 23
Missouri, Georgia, California, North Carolina, & Florida
April 27
Ohio, Michigan
April 27
Canada April 14-18
April 10
Venezuela
March 3
Ecuador
February 27
Colombia
January 27
1-24-06 Mission Day at Foyer De Charitte,
Cogua Colombia
2005 Missions
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