José María Rubio y Peralta

It was in Madrid that José María Rubio accomplished the work that made him famous. An indefatigable confessor, he dedicated long hours each day to the sacrament of reconciliation and to spiritual direction, attracting lines of faithful who came seeking counsel and comfort. His preaching, stripped of oratorical effects and centered on the simplicity of the Gospel, touched the hearts of the humble as well as the learned. He paid particular attention to the poorest neighborhoods of the capital, visiting the sick, the elderly, and the unemployed, and fostering the creation of schools offering free academic and vocational training to destitute children. He led and developed the association of the Marías de los Sagrarios ('Maries of the Tabernacles'), dedicated to Eucharistic adoration, and supported other lay works, forming Christians committed to their families, their professions, and society. His zeal for the service of the poorest earned him, in addition to that of 'Apostle of Madrid', the nickname 'father of the poor'. All his charitable action, he affirmed, was nourished by prayer and the Eucharist.

The spiritual life of José María Rubio is entirely ordered toward Eucharistic adoration, which he considers the source of all apostolic fruitfulness, and toward a trusting abandonment to the divine will. His motto, "Hacer lo que Dios quiere, querer lo que Dios hace" ("To do what God wants, to want what God does"), summarizes this ideal of obedience and total gift to God, first as a priest and then as a religious. Of a reserved, serious, and even shy temperament, he manifested a humility and charity that struck his contemporaries. Already during his lifetime, his reputation for holiness and his influence as a confessor and director of souls attracted crowds to him; some sources attribute extraordinary phenomena to him, but it is above all his daily fidelity to the ministry, his poverty, and his service to the humble that established his renown. Anxious to remain hidden, he reportedly requested that his spiritual notes be burned before his death.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of José María Rubio was officially introduced in 1963. On January 12, 1984, Pope John Paul II authorized the promulgation of the decree on the heroic nature of his virtues, recognizing him with the title of venerable. He was beatified by John Paul II on October 6, 1985, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome. The same pontiff proclaimed him a saint on May 4, 2003, at the Plaza de Colón in Madrid, during his apostolic journey to Spain; he was canonized that day along with four other Spanish blesseds: Pedro Poveda, Ángela de la Cruz, Genoveva Torres, and María Maravillas de Jesús. The celebration gathered a considerable crowd in the Spanish capital. His liturgical memorial is inscribed in the Roman Martyrology on May 2, the anniversary of his death in Aranjuez in 1929.

José María Rubio remains one of the great spiritual figures of 20th-century Spain and a saint particularly honored in Madrid, where he is held as a patron and a pastoral model. His example as an available confessor and a simple preacher, as well as his tireless service to the most destitute, continue to inspire the Society of Jesus and the Church in Madrid; parishes, associations, and charitable works claim his name. His motto on abandonment to the will of God has remained popular in Ignatian spirituality and beyond. The lay works he supported, particularly regarding Eucharistic adoration and the engagement of Christians in the city, extend his legacy. His feast day, celebrated on May 2, perpetuates the memory of this "apostle of Madrid" and "father of the poor" within the universal Church.