Course: Garcia Moreno: President of Ecuador

Publisher's Description:

This inspiring biography written in 1890 by Fr. Berthe, a French priest, gives us the story of the incredible Gabriel García Moreno, Catholic President of Ecuador the 1870s. Moreno courageously and untiringly rescued his beloved Ecuador from the Freemasonic nightmare it had over time become, and converted it into a nation organized on truly Catholic principles with beautiful official relations with the Vatican and Pope Pius IX. This biography is critical reading for high school students and adults, as it not only teaches us the way the good popes have always insisted a nation is supposed to be organized, but also lets us see this structure come to be against all odds (humanly speaking)! Garcia Moreno’s Ecuador was one only a few modern nations in which Catholicism reigned as the official State religion, and in which Freemasonry, false religions, and other pernicious cults were outlawed. As you can imagine, the Freemasonic fury knew no bounds.

One of the greatest, if not the greatest Catholic statesmen of our modern era, Moreno was well-educated, brilliant, prudent, extremely courageous, and very pious. After rising through the ranks, Moreno was practically forced out of need by his countrymen to serve two separate terms as president of Ecuador. As president, he constantly strove to do just what St. Thomas Aquinas teaches a good statesman should do: to increase the common good – especially that of virtue and holiness amongst his beloved Ecuadorian citizens.

He was faced with frequent setbacks, threats, violence, and even physical attacks from the Freemasons and liberals who had a powerful influence on the country. These evil men were striving constantly for revolution and tyranny, and to undo the good as fast as Moreno could do it. But they misunderstood and underestimated the greatness of the man they dealt with, strengthened as he was by God.

Moreno had an iron will and worked tirelessly to implement the very thing his enemies feared the very most: a close union of Church and State, in the very way consistently taught by the entire lineage of saints, Fathers, Doctors, and good popes of old. The Catholic Church was protected and aided by the State, and false religions were outlawed. The results were astounding! Catholic schools, orphanages, hospitals were built; the citizens felt safe and protected, crime and corruption decreased, religious vocations increased, and Ecuador thrived economically. The citizens loved Moreno and respected him as if he were their father.

Moreno, sensing that his godless enemies’ frustrations had grown to the boiling point, calmly prepared for death. Knowing that Moreno regularly went to the cathedral next to the presidential palace, they ruthlessly assassinated him after he came out of the church one evening after he finished adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

This book is simply a must-read for high school students and adults wishing to learn what they were never taught. It not only tells the story of a great Catholic leader, but more importantly, it teaches by example the things very that all leaders have a solemn duty to strive for.

As with almost all the classics we republish, Christ the King Books has carefully annotated Fr. Bethe’s work. This includes many study helps: maps, pictures, countless notes, vocabulary definitions, and so on. This is truly the critical edition of this great work. Recommended for grades 11-12 and adults.