Rutilio Grande, SJ, who will be beatified on January 22, was a deeply committed priest with extraordinary pastoral gifts. This was particularly evident in his efforts to empower the laity and bring the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, as well as the Latin American Episcopal Conference in Medellin, Colombia, to life in impoverished El Salvador during the run-up to that country’s civil war. country. war. Not content with imposing solutions from above, the Big Father committed himself to what Pope Francis would later call “the culture of encounter.” Because of his efforts to raise awareness among the poor and advocate for land reform, he and two parishioners were shot dead by a death squad in 1977, less than a month after Óscar Romero took office as archbishop of San Salvador. . Father Grande’s assassination had a profound effect on Archbishop Romero, who spent the rest of his life speaking out boldly and prophetically against oppression until he, too, was assassinated by a death squad.
Father Grande’s work was made possible by the care and treatment he received for his mental health issues. Although it is a lesser known part of his biography, this is highly relevant at a time when so many are struggling with their mental health. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five Americans suffers from a mental illness in any given year. Despite the wide scope of this crisis, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, there is significant stigma around mental health care, particularly in the church.
Rutilio Grande is just the intercessor we need as we seek to bridge the gap between the beautiful theory of the church’s teaching on mental health care and its actual practice.
Our last three popes have often spoken out about the dignity of those struggling with mental health issues, including depression and addiction, and Pope Francis has spoken positively of his own experience of seeing a psychoanalyst. But that attitude of compassionate care has been slow to trickle down to the average parish, where There may still be a temptation to dismiss or overspiritualize mental health issues. in ways that implicitly or explicitly discourage medical care. Rutilio Grande is just the intercessor we need as we seek to bridge the gap between the beautiful theory of the church’s teaching on mental health care and its actual practice.
[Related: Burned out, overworked or depressed? Pope Francis is praying for you.]
the Jesuit historian rudolph cardinalDefinitive biography of the Big Father describes in detail his two major mental health crises during his time in Jesuit formation, which are brought to life in letters and documents from the archives of the Jesuits’ Central American Province. The first crisis occurred while teaching at a Jesuit college in Panama. He was overwhelmed by the stress of his workload, first appearing passive and then speaking unintelligibly. He was admitted to a clinic, where he was diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia, received treatment, and recovered. Aware of his failing health, Grande’s Jesuit community sent him to El Salvador to recuperate, and then his superiors were careful to take his needs into account when making their assignments. (He did better, for example, in smaller communities than in large Jesuit houses.) File documents indicate that he was given additional time to complete his training, with the vice-provincial superior insisting that he be given an egg for breakfast every day and that he has access to the kitchen at all hours to regain his physical strength. He continued to see psychiatrists and receive medical attention as arranged by his Jesuit brothers, who were delighted with his recovery.
Rutilio Grande carried mental health problems as a personal cross. You can now become patron saint of all Catholics who seek and deserve mental health care.
Although several private letters written by fellow Jesuits (preserved in the archives) testify that some of them doubted that Grande had the ability to complete his training, no one told him that he was not fit to be a Jesuit. In fact, in their care for him, the Jesuit community wonderfully embodied the Ignatian principle of personal cure, or the care of the whole person. They respected his dignity by working to meet his mental, physical, and spiritual needs.
The second crisis came before Father Grande’s priestly ordination, when he was tormented by conscientiousness: He worried that his doubts about his vocation would make him unworthy to be a priest. Although his superiors reassured him, this fear took hold of Father Grande for some time, until he began to understand his mental health problems as his personal cross and moved to a place of self-acceptance. That acceptance of himself gave him the freedom to step wholeheartedly into his pastoral work and ultimately lay down his life for his people.
The medical treatment and extraordinary community care provided to Father Grande restored him and trained him for his great work. How impoverished the church would have been without his powerful witness! But the church still has a lot of work to do to follow in the footsteps of the Jesuits from El Salvador who cared for Padre Grande. Despite the church’s merciful teaching on mental health care, people struggling with depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issue continue to be given the message that their conditions are shameful, that they should pray harder or that therapy and medication are sinful things to pursue. Imagine the saints they might have been, had they not been made to feel unworthy or unwelcome in the church.
As we work toward a more informed, inclusive, and compassionate church, Rutilio Grande is a perfect pattern for us, giving us a powerful reminder that mental health concerns are not a disqualification from holiness, a fulfilling vocation, or a life lived in the depths. of God’s mercy and compassion. All of us are called to communion with God. That we commit to building a church that allows all of us to say yes.
[Related: 4 lessons from Rutilio Grande, priest, prophet and martyr]
