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Conceptionist Religious
Missionaries of the Teaching

Cardinal Osoro visits the Oratory of Santa Carmen on the I Route of Holiness through Madrid

General Houses
/
November 5, 2021

YOU CAN SEE HERE THE ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE ALFA Y OMEGA MAGAZINE

The Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Carlos Osoro, inaugurated the Route of Holiness on Wednesday, November 3. A tour of the places where the remains of the eight saints buried in the diocese rest. The route has been designed jointly by the Episcopal Delegation for the Causes of Saints and the Episcopal Youth Delegation, since it is a route open to groups, parishes, movements, but especially to young people.

At 11:30 a.m., the archbishop is received at the tomb of Santa Carmen Sallés, in which a group of children from the school participated, welcoming him. Don Carlos has spoken with all affection and closeness to the children. It has been a moving act full of emotion in which the melodic voices of our choirs have also had a place, the Primary one, which has interpreted the song of our founder, and the ESO and Bachiller, which sang the anthem of our school. Carlos Osoro has taken the floor to address the little ones with whom he has affectionately chatted in the chapel, immediately afterwards, in the oratory he remembered M. Begoña, with whom he maintained a solid friendship and has prayed before the founding mother in the company of the religious community.

It has been a very significant act, remembering the places where some of the saints of Madrid are. This testimony encourages us on our path of holiness.

January 26, 2022

Madrilenian tombs

The Holiness Route passes through the tombs of Saint Isidro Labrador and Saint María de la Cabeza, Saint Carmen Sallés, Saint Vicenta María López Vicuña, Saint Soledad Torres Acosta, Saint José María Rubio, Saint Alonso de Orozco and Saint Pedro Poveda.

It also includes the church of the Concepción Real de Calatrava, the Calatravas (Alcalá, 25), in which the memory of all the holy martyrs of the 20th century in Madrid is venerated.

Day 3 will be the first time that the Holiness Route will be officially traveled. The planned program is as follows:

  • 10:30 hours. Collegiate Church of San Isidro (Toledo, 37). Presentation of the route by Laura Moreno, Episcopal Youth delegate, and station in front of the tomb of San Isidro.
  • 11:30 hours. Religious Missionaries of Teaching Concepcionistas (Princesa, 19). Prayer before the tomb of Saint Carmen Sallés, in which a group of children from the school will participate.
  • 12:30 hours. Religious of Mary Immaculate (Fuencarral, 97). Sixth hour prayer before the tomb of Saint Vicenta María López Vicuña.
  • 13:30 hours. Servants of Mary Ministers of the Sick (Plaza de Chamberí, 7). Visit to the museum of Santa Soledad Torres Acosta and prayer before her tomb.
  • 14:15 hours. San Francisco de Borja Parish (Maldonado, 1). Prayer before the tomb of Saint José María Rubio.
  • 16:00 hours. Agustinas Community (Farm, 9). Prayer before the tomb of San Alonso de Orozco.
  • 17:15 hours. Santa María de Los Negrales Spirituality Center (San Pedro Poveda, 2, Los Negrales). Celebration of the Eucharist before the tomb of San Pedro Poveda. Presided over by Cardinal Osoro, it will be the Mass of Father Poveda and of the saints and blessed martyrs of the 20th century in Spain.

A very current treasure

The Route of Holiness is conceived as a pilgrimage: as on the Camino de Santiago, its objective will be to go to meet a saint. It is, as he explains Laura Moreno, the Episcopal Youth delegate, that the pilgrim approaches holiness through those who are already on the altars and who have lived in the same streets, and see "with what eyes they looked at" their reality.

Thus, the meaning of the journey is the apostolic exhortation Rejoice and rejoice which addresses the call to holiness in today's world, in which Pope Francis assures that "holiness is the path of mission." For this reason, on the route they will also be known in their testimonial dimension of living the Gospel.

"The saints are not a thing of the past", points out in this sense the episcopal delegate for the Cause of Saints, Alberto Fernandez. The Church recognizes them "as models and intercessors" for today's man and, therefore, to visit them is to update that dimension. On the route, it will also be done from different perspectives, because the saints included contribute a great wealth in diversity of charisms and lives to the history of the Church in Madrid: there are martyrs, spouses, educators... and various religious congregations that guard them.

The route, a project desired and promoted by Cardinal Osoro himself, is called to grow, because the history of the Church in Madrid is very fruitful in the fruits of holiness. "We have a very large treasure that we are obliged to keep and pass on," encourages the delegate, stressing that along with the eight saints who will be visited on the route, there are also 490 blesseds and nearly 500 martyrs buried in the diocese, and many canonization processes open.