Pedro Legaria Armendariz

After his ordination, Father Legaria first exercised his ministry in Paracuellos de la Ribera. He was then appointed professor of logic, ethics, theology, and canon law at the seminary of Tudela, while also serving as vicar at the Santa María Cathedral. In 1906, he became pastor of the parish of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Murchante, a position he held with exemplary dedication for thirty-six years. It was in Murchante that his major work matured. Deeply marked by the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, which he practiced every year, he observed their effectiveness in renewing the faith of his parishioners. On June 15, 1928, he founded a pious association in Tudela called Militia Christi (or Milicia de Jesús), with the help of Áurea Martínez Pardo and two other companions, María Laporta Martínez and Ángeles Simón Osés. The objective of this work was to propagate the practice of the Spiritual Exercises in complete retreat. The association grew rapidly and opened several retreat houses (notably in Burlada in 1932, then in Madrid, Barcelona, and Loyola). On May 3, 1941, Msgr. Nicanor Mutiloa, Bishop of Tarazona, canonically erected it as a religious congregation of diocesan right under the name of Handmaids of Christ the King (Esclavas de Cristo Rey). In 1942, Father Legaria was relieved of his parish duties to devote himself fully to the direction and spiritual formation of his religious sisters. The congregation received definitive pontifical approval on March 8, 1958, from Pope Pius XII.

Father Pedro Legaria Armendáriz distinguished himself through a life of intense prayer, mortification, and pastoral charity. His spiritual life was deeply rooted in devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Eucharist, and the Virgin Mary. He frequently signed his writings with the name "Pedro del Sagrado Corazón" (Peter of the Sacred Heart). In 1952, during a trip to Rome, he was received in a private audience by Pope Pius XII, an encounter that strengthened his apostolic zeal. Stricken by illness at the end of his life, he obtained the exceptional privilege of pronouncing his vows in the Society of Jesus in articulo mortis (at the point of death), thus fulfilling his youthful dream of belonging to the order of Saint Ignatius. He passed away on September 30, 1956, in Tudela, surrounded by the sisters of his community, after having pronounced his vows before the rector of the Jesuit college of Tudela. His final words were: "Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, en vos confío" (Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you). His remains rest today in the house of spiritual exercises in Tudela.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Pedro Legaria Armendáriz was introduced after his death to examine the heroic nature of his virtues. On December 20, 2001, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable. The process is currently underway in Rome, awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession to allow for his beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Pedro Legaria is characterized by a passionate love for Christ the King and an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls. His life motto summarizes his ideal: "To consume and exhaust myself in my entire physical, intellectual, and moral being for the glory of God and the salvation of souls." Today, the legacy of Father Legaria is perpetuated through the congregation of the Slaves of Christ the King. The religious sisters continue their mission of evangelization through the animation of houses of spiritual exercises according to the Ignatian method, Christian education in schools, social works, and missions. The congregation is active in several countries, notably in Spain, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, and Panama.