Tomás Morales
Tomás Morales SJ (born October 30, 1908 in Macuto, Venezuela, † October 1, 1994 in Alcalá de Henares , Spain) was a Spanish Jesuit and founder of the Catholic labor movement Hogar del Empleado , the secular institutes Cruzados and Cruzadas de Santa María and the apostolic movement for families Hogares de Santa María and the youth movement Milicia de Santa María .
life and work
Tomás Morales was born as the ninth child of Josefa Pérez and Antonio Morales in Macuto (Venezuela). As the family moved to Spain a year later, he spent his childhood and youth in Madrid. There he first attended the Jesuit school in Chamartín and then studied law at the Universidad Central. As chairman of the Catholic student body, he took an active part in the academic life of his time. After successfully completing his studies, he did his doctorate in Bologna, Italy, where he received a special award for his doctoral thesis. At the same time, however, he became more certain that his real calling was not a worldly career. He realized that God was calling him to the priesthood. At the age of 23 he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Chevetogne (Belgium) and was ordained a priest on May 13, 1942 in Granada.
When he returned to Madrid in 1946, he began an intensive pastoral work among the workers and employees. For them he founded the Catholic labor movement Hogar del Empleado , which soon numbered several thousand members. In prophetic foresight he put his priesthood entirely at the service of the laity, convinced of the indispensable value of their baptized gifts and charisms for the full realization of the missionary mission of the Church. The fruit of his diverse efforts was the founding of two secular institutes, Cruzados de Santa María and Cruzadas de Santa María , as well as the emergence of various apostolic movements, a family movement ( Hogares de Santa María ), a youth movement ( Milicia de Santa María ) and finally an association for Priest.
Father Morales died on October 1st, 1994 in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). The anniversary of his death fell on the first Saturday of the month of October, the month of the rosary, and at the same time on the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Both of them - the Mother of God and little Thérèse - he had particularly venerated his life. After he died in the name of holiness, his beatification process began on June 24, 2000 in Madrid.
His writings
Father Morales recorded his spiritual and pedagogical experience in several books, including Forja de hombres ("Forge of the Person"), Laicos en marcha ("Laymen on the move") and Hora de los laicos ("The hour of the layperson") ). In addition, he wrote other spiritual writings for the members of his institutes.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Morales, Tomás |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish religious chaplain (Jesuit) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 30, 1908 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Macuto, Venezuela |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 1, 1994 |
| Place of death | Alcalá de Henares , Spain |