Brother Emilio Quiros
Brother Emilio Quiros dies at age 84
Brother Emilio Quiros died on Wednesday evening, November 19, 2008 at age 84. The last few years of Br. Quiros' life were spent being cared for in the monastery infirmary. He was born on September 7, 1924 in Matanzas , Cuba , the son of Emilio J. Quiros and Dolores M. Cabrera-Quiros. Emilio had one sibling, a sister.
Emilio earned a degree in law at the Universidad de la Habana ( University of Havana ). In 1950 he returned to the university to earn a degree in philosophy; and in 1973, Emilio returned to school once again attaining a degree in religious studies from Barry College in Miami , Florida .
In January, 1948, Emilio entered the Christian Brothers Congregation in Mexico City . From 1949 - '61 he served the Christian Brothers in Havana , Cuba , as well as becoming a principal of a school there. From 1961 to 1967 Emilio was in Panama and Santo Domingo where he taught religion, philosophy, history, and literature. In 1967 Emilio was sent by the provincial of the Christian Brothers to work for the archdiocese (then diocese) of Miami , Florida where he worked in the Department of Religious Education until 1974.
In 1972 Emilio became a citizen of the United States of America and on October 2, 1974, Emilio entered Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery. Four years later in 1978, Emilio professed solemn vows as a monk in Conyers. He was one of seven monks sent to establish a monastery in Venezuela on September 11, 1987. The monastery of Our Lady of the Andes is one of two Cistercian monasteries in Venezuela. It is located in the heart of the Venezuelan Andes in the state of Mérida, on a slope across Chama River Valley from the town of Chiguará. The other Cistercian monastery is the nuns at Our Lady of Coromoto in Humocaro Alto. Br Emilio returned to Conyers after a few years at the new foundation.
Remembering Emilio by Fr James Behrens
Emilio would hum softly to himself. When his thoughts seemed to be absorbed by one thing or another, he mulled it over with a gentle and soft hum. I did not recognize any of the melodies, but they reminded me of lullabies and seemed to have the same effect on me when I heard them from Emilio. I felt a calmness in his presence. His way was a very gentle and kind one. His heart was as good and as true as the effect his song had on us.
Brother Emilio died November 19th. His passing was not unexpected. Indeed, he knew that the time was drawing near and said that he would not be with us for Christmas. I was with him, and I saw that his breathing was getting very labored. Rita, a Latino woman who works in the infirmary, came into the room and walked over to the bed. She took Emilio's hand, kissed it, and started to cry. She fixed whatever she could -- his bed sheets, his wisps of hair, his nightshirt, all the while crying and telling him that she loved him. I went to get the abbot, Francis Michael, and he came up right away. Emilio was still breathing, and I moved aside to let the abbot sit near him. He, too, took his hand and held it to his lips and then moved his hand down to Emilio's heart and, with Emilio's hand gently held in his, Francis Michael leaned closer to Emilio and began to hum, in much the same gentle way as Emilio did for as long as I knew him. It was like a lullaby, a soothing, soft melody that maybe, to Emilio, was not unlike the voice of an angel, lulling him into paradise. I do not know what was going through the abbot's mind and heart as he held the hand of a man he grew to love over the 34 years they shared together this monastic life. I prayed and watched and knew I was seeing the consummation of a life in Emilio and the meaning of life in the kindness of Francis Michael.
We believe that where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is as well fully present. I want to take Him at his word, a Word that soothes a few strands of hair, a Word that whispers love and cries, a Word that has a soft melody, beckoning the angels to come and to take to paradise one of their own.
Emilio is home, home for Christmas. And if he turns around on his way to Paradise , he can call to Phil ip, who is walking carefully behind him, and smiling.