A few days ago, in one of the many groups of Basques in Argentina to be found on Facebook, in this case bringing together the descendants of those from the Northern Basque Country (or French-Basques, as they call themselves), one person commented, with a certain degree of sadness, that no one in Argentina, much less in the Basque Country, ever spoke of IƱaki de Azpiazu.

When we read this message, we needed a few seconds to recall that name, which rang a bell, but which we couldn’t place because of what they’d done.Ā  What came to mind was the memory of having read something about him and his participation in the Gernika Battalion.Ā  That was all.

But, as we like to say, in many things, there’s only one thing that can beat out our ignorance, and that is our curiosity.Ā  So we started searching, and fortunately we came across people who had decided to keep the memory of this extraordinary Basque and extraordinary human very much alive.

And we do mean an extraordinary Basque, a man who was committed to his people, and to all people.Ā  We couldn’t help asking ourselves how it was possible that so little is known of and spoken about this man?Ā  What is happening to us Basques that we so quickly forget those among us who are the best?

So, as on other occasions, and perhaps as a way to make up for our prior lack of knowledge, we decided we needed to include his profile and work on our blog.

IƱaki de Azpiazu was a priest born in Azpeitia, Basque, labor unionist (part of a labor union known at the time as Solidarity of Basque Workers (Solidaridad de Trabajadores Vascos, or “La Soli”), Basque nationalist, pacifist, committed democrat, and enemy to all dictatorships.

His commitment landed him in jail, into hiding, to the Gurs camp, to collaborating with the French resistance, to helping those being sought by the Gestapo (including Roger Sermont, a young Jewish violin player who he hid for quite a long time in different locations; Sermont would later go on to join the Boston Symphony Orchestra), to being the Chaplain for the Gernika Battalion, and, finally, to exile in Argentina.

What he left behind in Argentina

He reached Argentina in 1947, and did so as so many thousands of Basques before him had done, by abandoning their homeland to flee from the monster of Francoist totalitarianism.Ā  Aside from being a priest (paying special attention to the Basque community), he was a journalist (and correspondent for the Buenos AiresĀ El Correo de la Tarde in Israel, during the trial of Adolf Eichmann, and at the Second Vatican Council); defender of democracy, of the Social Doctrine of the Church, of the persecuted; and in addition to all that, as if all that weren’t enough, his legacy is still felt in Argentina.

His experience as a chaplain at one of the prisons in Buenos Aires, and then as the Chaplain of Penal Institutions of the Nation, led him to found the Home of the Freedman, created to help ex-convicts re-enter society, and to found theĀ Secretariat for Christian Aid in Jails (in the patio of which one sapling of the Tree of Guernica is planted) which continues his work to this day.Ā  Moreover, he was a fierce opponent of the death penalty.

A book to understand what Francoism was

Portada libro de Azpiazu publicado en Venezuela 1964
Cover of Azpiazu’s book, published in Venezuela in 1964

In his facet as a writer, two of his works stand out for narrating the tragedy Basque democrats had to live through during the Francoist insurrection and the hard times and persecution the Basque Church, priests, and faithful who refused to join in on the military coup went through.Ā  It must never be forgotten, as much as many would wish it would be, that 16 Basque priests were assassinated by Franco’s troops or were sentenced by “military tribunals”.

To explain his experiences and the times he got to live, or survive, through under that rĆ©gime of terror (and terrorists), he wrote the bookĀ “7 meses y 7 dĆ­as en la EspaƱa de Franco”Ā (7 Months and 7 Days in Franco’s Spain); to defend and explain to the world the position the Basque Catholic Church took as it strove to distance itself from Francoism, in 1938, he wroteĀ “El caso de los catĆ³licos vascos” (The Case of the Basque Catholics) which was published in Spanish, English, and French, signed under theĀ nom de plumeĀ J. Hiriartia.

We’ve asked IƱaki Anasagasti, a member of the EGI in Venezuela during the 1960s, to give us an idea of what this priest was like.Ā  As he said in his text, “F. Azpiazu was very well known in Caracas, and his pastoral, journalistic, and political work being set forth from Buenos Aires was closely followed.”Ā  In 1964, those young people at EGI, via the Ediciones Gudari publishing house, published a book that brought together both works.Ā  We thank him for being so kind as to share his memories with our readers.

We managed to find a copy of the book and scan it so we can share it here, so that this work, and his message, may not be lost.

We’ll leave you with this profile of IƱaki de Azpiazu, written by Anasagasti.Ā  We’ll also leave you with the article “IƱaki de Azpiazu: un pastor de almas y de cuerpos” written by Gonzalo Javier Auza and published in 2003 on the EuskoNews website at Eusko Ikaskuntza (and also to be found on the website of the Secretariat of Christian Aid in Jails in Argentina).


DON IƑAKI AZPIAZU

IƱaki Anasagasti

InĢƒaki de Azpiazu
InĢƒaki de Azpiazu
Inaki Anasagasti
IƱaki Anasagasti. The son of a Basque family exiled to Venezuela, he left for San Sebastian at the age of seven.Ā  After finishing his education, he again left for Venezuela to study Journalism and Sociology at the AndrĆ©s Bello Catholic University in Caracas.Ā  He returned to San Sebastian in 1970 and ran the PNV journal, ā€˜Euzkadiā€™.Ā  In 1977, he began his political career as a member of the Regional Council of the PNV in Biscay, going to to become a member of the Basque Parliament, the Spanish Parliament, and the Spanish Senate.

Under the Franco dictatorship, in Venezuela, there was a group of people centered around the EGI body who carried out clandestine activity, usually aimed at information and training.Ā  With the boosting of the Vice President of the Basque Government in Exile, Joseba Rezola, and having seen the clandestine Radio Euzkadi out of Bayonne closed due to the pressure of the Franco rĆ©gime on the French authorities in 1951, it was possible to organize, in Venezuela, a short-wave broadcaster that would be able to broadcast a half-hour program three times a day: the Radio Euzkadi of the Basque Resistance.Ā  It was on air for thirteen years, until 1977, when it was closed as there was now freedom of the press in the Basque Country.

This group also maintained a clandestine journal,Ā Gudari, which was published every so often to be clandestinely distributed in the Basque Country.Ā  That’s how George Steer’s book “The Tree of Guernica”, as well as Javier Landaburu’s “The Cause of the Basque People” and PantaleĆ³n RamĆ­rez Olano’s “The Basques are not Spanish” and Father IƱaki Azpiazu’s “Seven Months and Seven Days in Franco’s Spain” were able to be distributed there.

Father Azpiazu was very well known in Caracas, and his pastoral, journalistic, and political work being set forth from Buenos Aires was closely followed.Ā  His reports from Israel when Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was tried, and the creation of the Secretariat to help those in jail, gained him great notoriety.

After his death in 1988, back in the Basque Country, I took the book to the Basque Government, and there, the Director of Culture, Eusebio LarraƱaga, republished it, though it was not widely distributed.Ā  That’s why I find it quite a good thing that theĀ Euskadi Munduan Association, via its blog, aboutbasquecountry.com, is now reviving F. Azpiazu’s very-well written books, narrating in splendid fashion what that unholy dictatorship was like.

But first, let’s get to know Don IƱaki.

He was born in Azpeitia on February 1, 1910, and died on March 29, 1988.Ā  Fortunately, in Azpeitia, his hometown has dedicated a street to him.

At the age of 11, he entered in to the Jesuit Fathers’ School in Durango.Ā  He continued his studies at the seminaries in Elexabeitia and Vistoria (25ā€“33) and was ordained in the latter, by Bishop Mateo Muxika, on January 24, 1933.Ā  A disciple of Aitzol and Poli LarraƱaga, he was inclined towards Christian humanism in social matters, and studied Political and Social Science at the University of Lille, where he graduated.

Upon his return to the Basque Country, he was posted to Salinas de AƱana, in Ɓlava (in 1934), where he collaborated with the ELA-STV.Ā  When he was posted to Azpeitia the following year, he continued to be concerned about social matters: he wrote “Euzko-Lagille” (Basque Aid) under the pseudonym “Igazola”.

Francoist troops entered Azpeitia on September 20, and Don IƱaki stayed at the parish.Ā  This was quite a mistake, as he was arrested and jailed for “seven months and seven days”.Ā  When freed on April 23, 1937, he got word that he was again a wanted man, so without thinking, he left, traveling through Beasain, Oiartzun, and Irun until he was able to cross the “border” on April 26.Ā  He settled in Lille, where he got in touch with the Catholic Refugee Aid Committee.Ā  He moved to Labourd, and with the support of the Delegation of the Basque Government, he provided aid to the colonies of exiled children.

Conferencia de prensa (en el Plaza Hotel) (Final de la misma). De izd. a der.: Joaquƭn Gamboa, IƱaki Azpiazu, AndrƩs irujo, Basaldua y el Lehendakari Aguirre.
Press conference at the Plaza Hotel (at the end).Ā  From left to right: JoaquĆ­n Gamboa, IƱaki Azpiazu, AndrĆ©s irujo, Basaldua and Lehendakari Aguirre.

Then came the Second World War, the Gurs camp, the French defeat, his attempt to emark at Saint-Jean-de-Luz to try to go to Great Britain, the Vichy Government.Ā  He moved to the seminary at Air-sur-l’Adour, and soon after, he ended up with the Gernika Battalion, and joined the Society of Priests of the Holy Heart of Jesus of Betharram.Ā  In 1947, he reached Buenos Aires, and was posted to the popular parish of the Holy Heart in the Barracas neighborhood, where he carried out outstanding work that received the approval of the Cardinal Primate, Mons. Santiago Copello, who allowed him to leave the Holy Heart society and join the secular clergy of the Archbishopric.

Social matters, which took up a good chunk of the priest’s heart, led him to the Economic and Social Secretariat and the groups that would later (1954) make up the Christian Democrat Party.Ā  From 1952 on, he would be the mentor ofĀ RelaciĆ³n, a monthly journal for civic and social training, and of theĀ EdiciĆ³nĀ team.Ā  He was the leader of Spriritual Aid for Jails, where he met almost all the anti-Peronists of the time.Ā  When PerĆ³n was toppled, and a year later General Valle led an uprising which ended up putting PerĆ³n in front of a firing squad, was when Don IƱaki had his first heart attack.

His experiences with prisoners and jails led him to create the Secretariat of Christian Aid to Jails, unique for its day; it was his master work.

As a journalist and author, he penned “Sept mois et sept jours dans l’Espagne de Franco” in 1938 under theĀ nom de plume IƱaki de Aberrigoyen; years later, it would be translated in Spanish by the EGI group in Caracas.Ā  He also wrote “Le cas de catholiques basques” in 1938 as J. Hiriartia, “Ideario de Conciencia Vasco” in 1945, “Mensajes CĆ­vicos”, etc.Ā  He collaborated on “Anayak”, “Gure Erria”, “Euzko Deya” in Buenos Aires and Mexico City, at BIAEV of which he was a member; and from 1954ā€“55, he founded and ran the monthlyĀ Euskaldunak, which published eleven issues.Ā  Another pseudonym he used was Mikel de Makazaga.

He created the “Misa Mensual de los Vascos”, and was a pleasant public speaker, having given speeches at almost every Basque center in Argentina, where for years he gave Basque masses.Ā  As a correspondent, he attended the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem.

In his final years, he lived between Argentina and the Basque Country, where he continued leading the secretariat for aid to jails.Ā  On December 4, 1985, he was designated a Distinguished Member of the Juan de Garay Foundation.


Euskonews – 2003 – Euskadi

IƱaki de Azpiazu: un pastor de almas y de cuerpos

ĀæQuĆ© mejor cuna para un sacerdote que Azpeitia, cerca del lugar de nacimiento de San Ignacio, uno de los santos con mayor transcendencia histĆ³rica? AllĆ­ naciĆ³ un 1Ā° de febrero de 1910 IƱaki de Azpiazu. Y, como no podĆ­a ser menos, a los 11 aƱos ingresĆ³ al Colegio de los Padres Jesuitas, en Durango. Sin embargo, cuando descubriĆ³ su vocaciĆ³n sacerdotal se decidiĆ³ por el clero diocesano; y, asĆ­, se formĆ³ en los seminarios de Elexabeitia y Gasteiz, donde se ordenĆ³ a los 23 aƱos.

(Follow) (Automatic translation)

Also available on the website of the Secretariat of Christian Aid in Jails


 

Books

The case of the Basque Catholics – InĢƒaki de Azpiazu (English)


 

Ā«7 meses y 7 dĆ­as en la EspaƱa de Franco y El caso de los catĆ³licos vascosĀ»

Last Updated on Mar 23, 2023 by About Basque Country


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