PADRE ALFREDO
| All this effort for our orphaned and abandoned children has been realized by the religious spirit and the dedication of Father Alfred Spiessberger, who was put by the Lord into the children's lives as an instrument of his love. Father Alfred Spiessberger, son of a working class family, was born in the City of Altmuenster, Austria, in 1938. After completing school, he was employed in construction work. At this time he joined the Catholic Working Youth Pastoral Movement and felt the call to priesthood. He subsequently entered the Franciscan Order. In 1964 he was ordained a Catholic Priest and his order sent him to San Jose de Chiquitos in Bolivia the following year. One of his first activities there was to attempt to conform the youth there to the philosophical ideas of the Religious and Apostulate Movement, which was a very active and efficient agency in his native country, Austria. However, for reasons beyond his control, his undertaking was not successful. It was therefore decided to convert the youth residence into a temporary orphanage to satisfy the growing need to care for the many orphaned and abandoned children. Father Alfredo had experienced the loss of a parent when his mother died when he was eight. In 1971, he used his first vacation to travel to Austria in order to meet Dr. Hermann Gmeiner, the originator of the concept of a children's village, who started his work in Austria after World War II. Father Alfredo petitioned him to help him in his quest to care for the orphans and abandoned children of Bolivia. The request was accepted with the condition that a legally valid and proper Charitable Foundation be established. Satisfying this requirement, the promised help and the generous support of other people started trickling in. In February 1973 the first three houses in San Jose de Chiquitos, accommodating 30 children were inaugurated. In 1976 Dr. Hermann Gmeiner honored Father Alfredo with a personal visit, whereby he expressed his great satisfaction for the work he had done. The work grew far more than expected. The efforts made on behalf of the orphaned and abandoned children during all these years have been recognized by various institutions in Bolivia and by the Austrian Government. It was for this reason that an Extraordinary Assembly was held on November 26, 1998, acknowledging Fr. Alfred's great work and deciding to change the name of "The Hermann Gmeiner Children's Village Association" to "The Father Alfredo J. Spiessberger Children's Villages", under the protection of the Catholic Church. We thank Mr. Julio Terrazas, Archbishop of Santa Cruz and Father Carlos Folgado, Head of the Franciscan Order in Bolivia, for having accepted this change of name. Father Alfredo says: If God gives us the opportunity to serve and attend to the needy, we never have to talk about merit and compensation. We have to consider it a duty, a privilege, a virtue. For sure we are serving the Lord as an instrument of His divine LOVE for the poorest; God promises and fulfills, He awards us a hundred fold. A life inspired by the Lord will reap awards in abundance. |