José María de Yermo y Parres

According to the tradition reported by his biographers, the discovery, on the road to Calvario in León, of abandoned infants being devoured by animals, deeply disturbed the young priest and precipitated his commitment. On December 13, 1885, he opened the Sacred Heart Asylum intended to take in orphans and the needy, and founded, with a few young women, the congregation of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Poor (Siervas del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús y de los Pobres). In a few years, the institute spread and José María de Yermo opened schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly, orphanages, and shelters. In Puebla, he launched a work intended to uplift women in prostitution. His dedication, notably during a flood that struck León, earned him the nickname of a "giant of charity." Towards the end of his life, in 1904, he extended his missionary action as far as the Sierra Tarahumara, in the north of the country, for the benefit of the indigenous populations. The fruitfulness of these foundations, continued by his congregation, constitutes the major work of his existence.

The spiritual physiognomy of José María de Yermo y Parres lies in the union of two devotions that he was able to bring together: the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the service of the poor. In his canonization homily, John Paul II emphasizes that he lived his priesthood as a total gift to Christ, to whom he adhered "with all his strength," and that the Heart of Christ was the source and foundation of his entire charism. Charity is presented there not as one activity among others, but as the very principle of his life, animated by the infinite love of Christ for men. His contemporaries and biographers insist on the alliance, in him, of a life of prayer and contemplation and a very practical sense of charitable organization, which allowed him to respond concretely to the distresses he encountered. This reputation for holiness, based on the heroic exercise of charity, would support the opening of his cause after his death.

The cause for beatification reached its conclusion on May 6, 1990, when John Paul II proclaimed José María de Yermo y Parres blessed at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, during his apostolic journey to Mexico. Ten years later, on May 21, 2000, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome, the same pope inscribed him in the catalogue of saints during a Jubilee Year celebration that also saw the canonization of the Mexican religious sister María de Jesús Sacramentado Venegas. In accordance with the procedure, his canonization required the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession, but the sources consulted do not specify the details; this information is therefore omitted for lack of verification. His liturgical memorial is set for September 20, the anniversary of his death which occurred in Puebla in 1904.

The legacy of José María de Yermo y Parres continues primarily through the congregation of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Poor, which carries on his work of education, care, and assistance to the most destitute. Founded in León, the institute developed in Mexico before expanding to other countries, faithful to the dual inspiration of its founder: devotion to the Heart of Christ and service to the poor. A contemporary Mexican saint, José María de Yermo y Parres is honored as a prominent figure of organized charity and attention to those on the margins of society—orphans, the sick, the elderly, women in difficulty, and the indigenous populations of the Sierra Tarahumara. His feast day, September 20, is celebrated notably within the communities of his congregation and in Mexico, where his memory remains vivid.