The truly Catholic President mentioned in Our Lady's prophesy was Gabriel Garcia Moreno one of his first acts was to issue a concordat restoring liberty to the church. In 1867 he established a constitutional government under the Kinship of Christ. In 1870 it was Ecuador alone among all the nations of the world that publicly protested the invasion of the papal states and offered a national subsidy for the captive pope. In 1873 together with José Ignacio Checa y Barba the Archbishop of Quito he formally consecrated Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus part of which read, “prostrate before your divine presence all the public powers of the church and of the state offer and consecrate to Thee now and for ever the Republic of Ecuador as thy exclusive possession and property.”
The enraged socialist and Freemasons who lost their offices when Garcia Moreno took over the presidency made calumny campaigns against him. But nothing succeeded at turning the people against one so honest and good. Under him Catholic schools and universities prospered. The national debt was dissolved highways and infrastructure were built, criminals were placed behind bars or hanged, and the streets were safe. The more the people loved him the greater the hatred of the Masons. Soon after his election to a third term and with a great impulse of fervour he shouldered a huge wooden cross during a Holy Week procession and lead the procession through the streets of Quito. Shortly thereafter the Freemasons arranged for his assassination.
Aware of this Garcia Moreno wrote immediately to Pope Pius IX asking for his blessing before the inauguration day of August 30. 'I wish to obtain your blessing before that day so that I may have the strength and light which I need so much in order to be unto the end a faithful son of our Redeemer and a loyal and obedient servant of His Infallible Vicar. Now that the Masonic Lodges of the neighbouring countries instigated by Germany are vomiting against me all sorts of horrible insults and horrible calumnities, now that the Lodges are secretly arranging for my assassination, I have more need than ever of the divine protection so that I may live and die in defence of our holy religion and the beloved republic which I am called once more to rule...What greater privilege still, if your blessing were to obtain for me the grace of shedding my blood for Him, who being God desired to shed His on the Cross for me? May I be deemed worthy to shed my blood for the cause of the Church and Catholic Society.”
PART 3