He was the son of Carlos Aldunate Errázuriz and Adriana Lyon Lynch; he was the grandson of the president of the Chilean Conservative Party, Carlos Aldunate Solar, and brother of the Jesuit priest José Aldunate. He studied in Jesuit schools in England and Chile. He entered the Society of Jesus in the city of Chillán and was ordained a priest in Argentina in 1944. In 1948 he obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.[1]
He was rector of the seminary of the Jesuits in Chile and the Jesuit colleges in Santiago, Antofagasta, and Osorno. He was rector of the Universidad del Norte between 1966 and 1969, and director of the Casa de Ejercicios Loyola. He also served as a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso and the Universidad del Norte.[2] He performed exorcisms,[3] and since 1975 he was dedicated to giving retreats and spirituality courses in Chile and abroad.
In 1960, the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio (today Pope Francis), in his period of formation towards the priesthood, spent a season in Chile, where Aldunate was the master of novices.[4][5]
He was the main initiator of the movement of the Charismatic Renewal in Chile, in the early 1970s.[6]
He died on July 18, 2018, aged 102.[7]
