MADRID, Spain.
Every year, members of the “Hermandad del Refugio” invite us to celebrate a Eucharist in honor of Saint Pedro Poveda, first martyr and saint of their ranks. Members of the Teresian a Association joined in this celebration.
This year the celebration took place on Thursday, May 12. Pastor Carlos Nero centered his homily on the words of Jesus, "You are the salt of the earth," words Pedro Poveda commented on so well.
After the celebration, a relic of St. Pedro Poveda was shown for veneration and, as usual, we went down to the crypt, where there is a beautiful sculpture of Poveda, made by Pedro Requejo Novoa and installed in 2006, and where some writings of Pedro Poveda are also displayed. There Pilar Arrate and the choir led Marian song and others dedicated to St. Pedro Poveda.
San Antonio de los Alemanes Church
San Antonio de los Alemanes Church, a true jewel of the Spanish Baroque called "the Sistine Chapel of Madrid," is located very close to Puerta del Sol, the geographic center of Spain, but is not included in the tourist routes of the capital.
In 1668, the second wife of Philip IV, Mariana of Austria, gave the church to German Catholics. It was originally founded as a shelter and hospital for the Portuguese (hence the dedication to Saint Antony, a Portuguese saint). This Church houses frescoes by Francisco Ricci, Carreño Miranda, and Lucas Jordan among others.
"Hermandad del Refugio"
In 1700, the building and the annexed hospital came to belong to a group called Hermandad del Refugio, whose mission was to help the poor, the homeless, and the sick that filled the streets of Madrid.
Laymen who belonged to it used to come out at night to feed the poor. They would also take care of their health, their families, etc. It was what we would call toady a Catholic NGO of the seventeenth century.
Today it is a charitable association that offers a soup kitchen to people in need as well as a school that was founded in 1651.
Saint Pedro Poveda and the "Hermandad del Refugio"
On May 24, 1930, St. Pedro Poveda joined this group. In the same year he was appointed chaplain of the National Catholic Student Federation, and he was invited to be part of a commission to prepare a draft for a Catholic University. He also worked on the development a plan for a future Teachers College and he participated in the First National Assembly of Catholic Action held in Toledo, as president of Catholic Youth and Students (For further information see "Línea del tiempo" in www.pedropoveda.org).