Joaquim Alves Brás

It was during his ministry as a spiritual director and his regular visits to the hospital in Guarda that Father Joaquim Alves Brás became aware of the social tragedy of young girls from the countryside who had come to work in the city as domestic servants (criadas de servir). Often illiterate, exploited, and deprived of rights and social protection, many of them fell into poverty or prostitution.

To respond to this social and moral emergency, he founded the Obra de Santa Zita in 1931 (initially called Obra de Previdência e Formação das Criadas - OPFC). The statutes of this work were approved by the Bishop of Guarda on April 25, 1932. The association's mission was to welcome, protect, and provide human, professional, and spiritual training to these young domestic workers.

In 1933, he founded the Secular Institute of the Cooperators of the Family (Instituto Secular das Cooperadoras da Família - ISCF), an institute of secular consecrated life. The specific charism of this institute is the care and sanctification of the family as well as support for priests, inspired by the model of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The motto of his works is "Mãos no trabalho, coração em Deus" (Hands at work, heart in God).

To disseminate his ideas and support families, he also founded: - The newspaper Voz das Criadas in 1934 (later becoming Bem-Fazer). - The Centros de Cooperação Familiar (Family Cooperation Centers) in 1960. - The Jornal da Família in 1960. - The Movimento por um Lar Cristão (Movement for a Christian Home) in 1962, intended to promote conjugal and family spirituality.

In recognition of his work, he received the title of Monsignor (Chaplain of His Holiness) from Pope Pius XII in 1958, and then that of Domestic Prelate from Pope John XXIII in 1962. He died on March 13, 1966, in Lisbon, following a road accident.

After his tragic death, his reputation for holiness continued to grow among the faithful and the members of the institutions he founded.

The diocesan process for his beatification was officially opened on June 15, 1990, within the ecclesiastical tribunal of the Patriarchate of Lisbon, under the presidency of Cardinal-Patriarch António Ribeiro. The diocesan phase concluded on March 18, 1992, and the file was transmitted to Rome to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The decree of validity for the diocesan process was published on June 4, 1993, and the Positio on his heroic virtues was submitted on March 30, 1996.

On March 15, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Joaquim Alves Brás, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable. The cause is currently underway, awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession to pave the way for his beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Joaquim Alves Brás rests on an intimate union with Christ, nourished by the Eucharist, which was the center and root of his apostolic zeal, as well as by a deep Marian devotion. His innovative pastoral action anticipated by several decades the official recognition of secular institutes by the Church (promulgated by Pius XII in 1947 with the constitution Provida Mater Ecclesia) and the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on the role of the laity and the family.

Today, his legacy is perpetuated by the "Blasian Family" (Família Blasiana), which brings together the Secular Institute of the Cooperators of the Family, the Obra de Santa Zita, the Movimento por um Lar Cristão, as well as the youth movement "Focos de Esperança" (Beacons of Hope). He is widely honored in Portugal as the "Apostle of the Family."