It was on January 27, 1915, in the Netherlands, that the young Humberto van Lieshout, or Frater Eustáquio as he was already called, professed his temporary vows in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts.

Eustáquio was 24 years old when he temporarily professed vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. A year and a half earlier, in July 1913, the young man had entered the novitiate and identified with the Congregation. In the book "The Vicar of Poá," Fr. Venâncio Hulselmans, ss.cc., writes:

“"Humberto van Lieshout, even as a student, loved this Congregation and throughout his life sought to fully realize its sublime purposes."”

The following year, more precisely on February 9, 1916, Eustáquio graduated in Theology and later (in 1918) professed his perpetual vows.

RELIGIOUS VOWS

The vows made during religious consecration express a path towards the radical experience of the religious person's dedication to God; their entire life will be fully available for following Christ. The purpose of these vows is to allow the consecrated person to break free from all human conditioning, whether personal, cultural, or ideological, thus becoming authentic in their proclamation of the Gospel. In turn, they are crucial to the consecrated person's missionary life because, through them, the shackles that prevent us from serving our brothers and sisters with love are broken. They express a gesture of total freedom and availability.

POVERTY, OBEDIENCE AND CHASTITY

A poverty Evangelical life signifies the maturity to adapt material goods to the service of the evangelizing mission, so that the consecrated person is qualified in solidarity with their neighbor. obedience It aims at the full maturity of the religious person, making them docile to the inspiration of the Spirit and capable of renouncing their very personal desires. chastity,Repentance, understood by some as simply renouncing marriage, means offering God the sacrifice of our bodily desires. Its purpose is to provide the religious person with freedom of affection, enabling them to establish mature and centered relationships that go beyond purely sexual desire.

Source: Vice-postulation of the Cause of Canonization of Father Eustáquio with information from the book: “O Vigário de Poá”, by Fr. Venâncio Hulselmans (1944) and information from a12.com (https://www.a12.com/redentoristas/noticias/o-que-sao-votos-de-pobreza-castidade-obediencia)