Venerable Francisco Valdés Subercaseaux Padre Pancho

Maximiano Valdés Subercaseaux (23 September 1908 – 4 January 1982) - in religious Francisco - was a Chilean Roman Catholic prelate who was a professed member from the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and served as the first Bishop of Osorno from 1956 until his death. Valdés discerned his call to the priesthood while with his parents in Europe and was ordained as a priest in Venice after completing his studies in Rome but continued further formation amongst the Franciscans in Europe before making his return to Chile. He was the first Chilean to have become a Capuchin friar. Valdés dedicated his episcopal career to the poor and he often visited the poor regions around his diocese while remaining a staunch advocate for a peaceful resolution to the Chile-Argentina border disputes; his last words also contained a desire for there to be peace between the two feuding nations. The cause for his beatification was launched in 1998 and titled him as a Servant of God while Pope Francis declared Valdés to be Venerable on 7 November 2014 after recognizing his life of heroic virtue. Maximiano María Antonio Miguel Valdés Subercaseaux was born on 23 September 1908 in San Miguel in the Santiago Province as the second of five children to Horacio Valdés Ortúzar and Blanca Subercaseaux Errázuriz. His parents were married on 12 September 1906 and were devout Christians. His brother Gabriel served as the Foreign Minister and later the Senate President while his son (Valdés' nephew) Juan Gabriel serves as the current Chilean ambassador to the United States of America since 2014. His baptism was celebrated on 24 September. He received a special dispensation from Pope Pius X to have his First Communion before the required age and the celebration was held on 30 March 1913 while he received his Confirmation on 11 April 1914 from Archbishop Juan Ignacio González Eyzaguirre. Valdés began his schooling at the San Ignacio school.