Domingo Iturrate

Recognizing his exceptional intellectual aptitudes, his superiors sent him to Rome in October 1919 to pursue his higher studies. Lodged at the convent of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University. His academic efforts were crowned with success: he obtained brilliant doctorates in philosophy (July 3, 1922) and in theology (July 26, 1926).

On October 23, 1922, he pronounced his solemn vows. Two years later, in 1924, with the approval of his spiritual director, Father Antonino of the Assumption, he committed himself by a private vow to "always do what he would recognize as the most perfect." He was ordained a priest on August 9, 1925, in Rome by Cardinal-Vicar Basilio Pompilj. He celebrated his first solemn mass on August 15, 1925, on the feast of the Assumption, in the chapel of the Adorer Sisters.

Although he ardently aspired to go on a mission to announce the mystery of the Holy Trinity, his superiors preferred to destine him for teaching and formation due to his theological talents. However, in June 1926, he was diagnosed with incurable pulmonary tuberculosis. Faced with the illness, he showed heroic resignation and total abandonment to the divine will. To attempt to treat him, he was sent to Spain, first on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, then to the convent of Belmonte (Cuenca), whose dry climate in La Mancha was considered more favorable. Despite this, his condition worsened rapidly. He died holily in his cell on April 7, 1927, at the age of 25.

From his earthly life and immediately after his death, Domingo enjoyed an immense reputation for holiness due to his piety, his obedience, and his serenity in the face of suffering. From 1928, only one year after his passing, the informative processes regarding his life and reputation for holiness were opened in Vitoria (1928-1931), then in Cuenca (1931) and in Rome (1932-1935). His heroic virtues were officially recognized by Pope John Paul II, who declared him venerable on October 11, 1980.

Blessed Domingo Iturrate Zubero was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 30, 1983, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, following the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession (the unexplained healing of a sick person).

During the beatification ceremony, Pope John Paul II emphasized that Domingo's brief life (26 years) contained a rich message of constant striving toward holiness, characterized by the faithful fulfillment of God's will. Addressing the Spanish and Basque pilgrims, the Sovereign Pontiff even spoke a sentence in the Basque language to exhort them to follow the new Blessed's example of fidelity to Christ.

His mortal remains, initially buried in the municipal cemetery of Belmonte, were exhumed and transferred in 1974 to the Church of the Trinitarian Fathers of the Holy Redeemer in Algorta (Biscay, Spain), where they are venerated today.

The spirituality of Domingo Iturrate is deeply rooted in the charism of the Trinitarian Order: the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity and the work of Redemption. As a priest, he lived every celebration of the Eucharist as an act of personal immolation, uniting himself with Christ, the supreme Victim, for the salvation of souls. His spiritual motto, taken from his writings of 1922, summarizes his journey: "Our conformity to the divine will must be total, without reserve, and constant." He strove to "do ordinary things extraordinarily well." He left behind spiritual writings composed during his retreats (notably in 1921 and 1924) as well as a correspondence of 31 letters that testify to his mystical depth, his zeal for the salvation of souls, and his joyful acceptance of illness. He is today considered a model of accessible holiness for young people, seminarians, and priests.