Rev. Michael Fernandez Achirica, 76, who belonged to an order of Catholic priests that works primarily with Spanish-speaking people and who served as associate pastor at several Chicago churches, died Sunday, June 16, of congestive heart failure at Resurrection Life Center, an assisted living facility in Chicago. The son of a Spanish petroleum merchant, Father Fernandez was born in Mexico and grew up in Spain where he was taught by priests of the Claretian order. Inspired by the priests’ dedication, he decided to join their order and was ordained when he was 29. He served as associate pastor at a church in Puerto Rico before he was sent to Chicago in 1970. Since then, Father Fernandez served as associate pastor at St. Francis of Assisi, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart of Mary parishes–all of which have many Hispanic parishioners. He also was pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe for five years.”Every sermon that he gave on Sunday involved some area of instruction about the milieu of Jesus,” said Rev. James Maloney, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On his weekly day off, Father Fernandez would visit the Art Institute of Chicago to admire new exhibits or pop into a movie theater to catch the latest movies. “He just really got into the culture of movies and the development of story and how it was portrayed,” Maloney said. Father Fernandez also enjoyed listening to opera. Survivors include his sister-in-law, Maria Victoria Fernandez, and a niece, Beatriz Caraso. A mass was said.
