Saying Good bye to José María ("Chema") Magaña
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Saying Goodbye to José María ("Chema") Magaña
We are deeply sad to report that José María Magaña, age 65, died on Friday, June 19, 2009, after being hospitalized for acute pneumonia in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.
We are deeply sad to report that José María Magaña, age 65, died on Friday, June 19, 2009, after being hospitalized for acute pneumonia in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.
“Chema,” as we affectionately called him, was originally from Cualcomán, in the Mexican state of Michoacán. He was the oldest child in a family of nine children. As a Jesuit brother, he worked with the Tseltal Maya in the region of the Jesuit Mission of Bachajón for most of his adult life.
(To read the captions to the photos below, please click on each image.)
For the past several years, Chema dedicated himself to the Caretakers of the Earth Program, working with community volunteers to make the most of the land available to them. As the son of a farmer, Chema knew the difficulties of living off the land and wanted to help alleviate the suffering of poor Tseltal families. In response to the rise in hunger in the region, Chema worked tirelessly to promote new and traditional ways to work the land sustainably and incorporate ecological techniques to improve the living conditions of poor families while protecting the environment.
One Equal Heart Foundation dedicates the donations collected through our 2009 Harvest of Hope Campaign in loving memory of Jesuit Brother Chema Magaña.
Father José (“Pepe”) Avilés, SJ, Director of the Jesuit Mission and the Center for Indigenous Rights (CEDIAC) wrote to us:
“Our beloved Chema has left us. He carried a great love in his heart, a heart that stopped beating so that he could now give us life and joy in another way…The loss is huge but we know that we have in Chema a great interceder in heaven to ask that the Caretakers of the Earth Program grow stronger.”
Those who have been to Chiapas and had an opportunity to be in Chema’s presence know he was a man that embodied a life lived with love, humor and humility. Perhaps the best way we can honor Chema’s life is by loving each other.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Chema’s extended family in Michoacán and all of his “family” in Chiapas. May you rest in peace, dear Chema.
“Chema,” as we affectionately called him, was originally from Cualcomán, in the Mexican state of Michoacán. He was the oldest child in a family of nine children. As a Jesuit brother, he worked with the Tseltal Maya in the region of the Jesuit Mission of Bachajón for most of his adult life.
(To read the captions to the photos below, please click on each image.)
For the past several years, Chema dedicated himself to the Caretakers of the Earth Program, working with community volunteers to make the most of the land available to them. As the son of a farmer, Chema knew the difficulties of living off the land and wanted to help alleviate the suffering of poor Tseltal families. In response to the rise in hunger in the region, Chema worked tirelessly to promote new and traditional ways to work the land sustainably and incorporate ecological techniques to improve the living conditions of poor families while protecting the environment.
One Equal Heart Foundation dedicates the donations collected through our 2009 Harvest of Hope Campaign in loving memory of Jesuit Brother Chema Magaña.
Father José (“Pepe”) Avilés, SJ, Director of the Jesuit Mission and the Center for Indigenous Rights (CEDIAC) wrote to us:
“Our beloved Chema has left us. He carried a great love in his heart, a heart that stopped beating so that he could now give us life and joy in another way…The loss is huge but we know that we have in Chema a great interceder in heaven to ask that the Caretakers of the Earth Program grow stronger.”
Those who have been to Chiapas and had an opportunity to be in Chema’s presence know he was a man that embodied a life lived with love, humor and humility. Perhaps the best way we can honor Chema’s life is by loving each other.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Chema’s extended family in Michoacán and all of his “family” in Chiapas. May you rest in peace, dear Chema.