Tomás Morales Pérez

Father Tomás Morales Pérez dedicated his priestly ministry to the animation and formation of the laity, prophetically anticipating the orientations of the Second Vatican Council. Beginning in 1946, upon his return to Madrid, he began preaching retreats of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, addressing himself particularly to workers and employees. From this apostolate was born the Hogar del Empleado (Employee's Home), an apostolic and social movement of great vitality that sparked numerous works of assistance and solidarity. To structure and perpetuate this spiritual momentum, he founded several institutes and movements: the male secular institute Cruzados de Santa María (Crusaders of Saint Mary), the female secular institute Cruzadas de Santa María (Crusaders of Saint Mary), the youth movement Milicia de Santa María (Militia of Saint Mary), and the family association Hogares de Santa María (Homes of Saint Mary). These foundations aim to form committed laypeople, capable of being leaven for the Gospel at the heart of society and their professional environment. Father Morales dedicated thousands of hours to spiritual direction and preached more than 500 sessions of Spiritual Exercises throughout his life.

After a life entirely given to God and to the evangelization of the laity, Father Tomás Morales Pérez died on October 1, 1994, in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), on the feast day of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. The cause for beatification and canonization officially opened on June 24, 2000, in the Archdiocese of Madrid. On November 5, 2002, his mortal remains were transferred to the Hogar Rovacías in Madrid. The diocesan phase of the inquiry closed on March 18, 2007. The file was then transmitted to Rome, where the Positio was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on June 26, 2013.

On November 8, 2017, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues. From that date, Tomás Morales Pérez was declared venerable. The continuation of his cause toward beatification now requires the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession.

The spirituality of Father Tomás Morales is deeply Eucharistic, Marian, and Ignatian. He places contemplation at the heart of action and invites every baptized person to take the Virgin Mary as a model and guide to allow themselves to be transformed by Christ. His famous spiritual advice summarizes this attitude of filial abandonment: "Take Mary as Mother. Live in Her with the heart of a child... it is to leave the Mother free to transform you, to make of you another Jesus for Her, another Christ for souls." His legacy continues today through the secular institutes and movements he founded, present in Spain, Italy, Germany, Latin America, and other countries of the world, continuing his mission of the sanctification of the world through the laity.