“Simple, joyful and ready to do God’s will” – this is how Fr. General remembers a young Redemptorist who died at 24.

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“I have received the sad news of the death of our brother Luis Ángel Ábalo Ríos, whom I had the opportunity to know when he was a novice in Piedecuesta (Colombia). It is common for us to report with joy a perpetual profession or the ordination of a young man who begins his consecration in our Congregation, so this news saddens us” with these words, the Superior General, Father Rogério Gomes CSsR, began his letter to the Andean Caribbean Redemptorist Province in which he expresses the condolences of the whole Congregation to the family of Luis Angel and the Province he was a member.

Rogério wanted to remember him with this example: “I am reminded of the image of the Venerable Dominic Blasucci (1732 – 1752), a Redemptorist student, a contemporary of St. Alphonsus, who, like Luis Angel, died very young. Besides sharing their youth, both were simple, joyful, fraternal and ready to do the will of God”.

Andean Caribbean province bids late Br. Luis Ángel farewell with these words: “We will always remember you for your brotherhood, leadership, academic excellence, friendship, dedication, and coherence of life. In short, there are many qualities and positive things that you have sown in each of our hearts.”

Luis Ángel Ábalo Ríos

He was born in Sabanilla, province of Loja, Ecuador, on 10 October 1999; his parents were Jacinto Eliseo and Amelia de Jesús. He was the eldest of four siblings. On 24 September 2017, he entered the Redemptorist Seminary in Riobamba, Ecuador. He studied philosophy at the Salesian Polytechnic University in Quito from 2018 to 2020.

In 2021, he moved for the first time to Colombia, precisely to Piedecuesta Santander, where he completed his novitiate year in the company of Redemptorists from all over South America and the Caribbean. After his novitiate, he went to Cuenca, where he took his religious vows as a Redemptorist Missionary on 15 January 2022. He then travelled to Colombia to complete his theological studies. He died on 29 May 2024 in the city of Bogotá. The funeral of Luis Angel Ábalo Ríos CSsR took place in Ecuador on 5 June 2024 in Sabanilla, Loja.

Scala News

Funeral Mass for Brother Luis Ángel Abalo Ríos CSsR: https://www.facebook.com/100013751950830/videos/473962141689641/