Daniel J. Ollero Madrid

Madrid

Updated Friday, January 26, 2024-00:08

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Those who lose their husband are widows, those who lose their parents are orphans, but

the Spanish language does not have a word to designate the father who loses a child

. An unnatural tragedy about which psychologists and linguists explain that there is no noun capable of summarizing a phenomenon too painful to give a name to. And this is precisely what

happened to Joaquín Echeverría

.

On June 3, 2017, his son,

Ignacio Echeverría, brandished a skateboard, confronted the terrorists who were attacking London Bridge

, the city where the Spaniard resided. A gesture that cost him his life and that violently shook Joaquín's when he found out at his house in Madrid.

"

I want my son's death to be useful for something

," he repeats over and over again. 10 words that have become a mantra and with which she seeks to give meaning to his own existence.

To fulfill what has now become his vital mission, Joaquín has

a religious association with which he seeks to have his son canonized

and a recently launched civil association that seeks to spread "my son's values, the ones we share." the whole society", through talks in schools, institutes, universities and barracks.

Until June 3, 2027, Joaquín Echevarría, who had worked for decades in the sector and as a professor-doctor, was peacefully enjoying his retirement. "He was in charge of making food and writing the history of my ancestors of the Echevarría branch since 1840, when

one of my ancestors was captured in a Carlist war party

," he explains.

However, that early summer day on the Thames Bridge, the life of this retired engineer took a 180 degree turn. “May my son's death be of some use” became

his mantra

and his vision of life.

"

Bishop Martínez Camino told us about the possibility of canonizing Ignatius

and then we set up a religious association to get it started," says his father. "He taught catechism classes in a parish in London and when he went out with his friends to go on skateboarding trips, he would take a missal to do his readings," he remembers. So, a year ago, Joaquín turned to "a postulator - a kind of religious lawyer - who, collecting testimonies from third parties, prepares files on candidates for sainthood - who instructs the file" that

must be presented to the

ecclesiastical authorities.

«The canonization of a person does not change their status in heaven. I do it for society, because it seems to me that

if Ignatius were canonized, he would be considered an example for many more people and his death would be much more useful

," he says. A canonization process about which he is optimistic. «For Ignatius it is easy because

there are many people expressing that he feels holy

and there are many articles written talking about his goodness and some talking about his holiness. There are also many people who ask him for favors, ask him for intercession, and pray to him," he says. "On the other hand, there are testimonies of signs, that is, there are people who have prayed to him, who have asked him for favors and who believe that he granted them," he says. «For example», he continues, «

there is a man who wrote to me shortly after my son died and told me that he was asking Ignacio to interrupt an unhealthy relationship that his daughter was involved in

. Afterwards he wrote to me again several times to tell me that they had broken up, that he had asked her to help him find another boyfriend, that he had found a boyfriend, that he had gotten married and that she was finally pregnant.

At the same time, the civil association with the name of Ignacio emerged in a different way. "A father and a boy contacted me because

they wanted to make skateboards and surfboards with my son's name on them

," he recalls. "We matured the idea, we decided that the association would be the owner of these patents for skateboards, surfboards and sports clothing and that in this way the benefit would fall on society," he says.