Dear brothers, first thing this morning, we announced the death of our brother of Felipe Sainz de Baranda and his funeral which is to take place tomorrow. Finally, it has been put back to Friday, 28th July at 16:15, so as to make it easier for our brothers, who do not live in Spain, to be able to attend. We are awaiting the arrival of Fr. Agustí Borrell, Vicar General of our Order.
There follows a brief biographical resumé which we have prepared about our brother:
Fr. Felipe was born on 3rd October, 1930 in Baranda. The son of Eugenio and Leonor. He entered the Teresian School in Calahorra (La Rioja) in 1941, where he studied humanities until 1945.
On 4th October 1945, he took the habit in the Carmel in Burgo de Osma (Soria), at the start of his novitiate, which culminated with his religious profession on 5th October 1946.
He then went to Burgos, where he studied Philosophy for the first two years in the Monastery of the Order. He completed his studies in Oviedo in the year 1949.
He returned to Burgos to begin studies in Theology and after taking the course for the first two years and having made his Solemn Profession in October 1951, he was sent to the Order’s International College in Rome. On 19th December 1953, he was ordained priest.
On completing the Institutional course in1954, he obtained a degree in Theology, whilst studying for a Doctorate from 1954-1955.
From 1955 to 1958, he studied Sacred Scripture, where he received a degree in 1958.
In October 1958, he was designated Professor of Scripture and Patristic Studies in the Theological College in Burgos, a position which he managed at the same time as being Director of the Mount Carmel Review from 1960.
In 1963, he was made Second Provincial Counselor and afterwards Master of the theologians and then Prior of the Community from 1966 to 1969, a period in which the new Church Carmelite in Burgos was being built.
In 1969, he was elected Provincial and re-elected to the same position in 1972. Before finishing the second triennium, he was elected First Definitor and then Vicar General of the Order, in the Chapter, which took place in 1973.
At the end of the six year term, he was elected Propositor General in1979 and again in 1985 until 1991.
In the same year, he left for America, where he remained as Provincial Delegate, a position he managed with his work as a formator in Paraguay and Uraguay successively, with great dedication to the diffusion of carmelite spirituality, by means of Spiritual Exercises to communities of Carmelite nuns the world over.
Since the end of 2015, he was part of the community of St. Joseph in Burgos from where he followed all the events of our Order in Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay, with great interest.
