Vicente Garrido Pastor

The great apostolic work of Vicente Garrido Pastor is the foundation of the Secular Institute of the Workers of the Cross (Instituto Secular Obreras de la Cruz). Aware of the rapid de-Christianization of the working world and the vulnerability of young women entering the labor market in factories and workshops, he wished to promote the active role of the laity, and particularly of women, in evangelization. On February 13, 1934, he gathered a first group of women in Burjassot for a spiritual retreat. A few months later, he drafted the statutes of a civil association, the Sociedad Amor Cristiano (Society of Christian Love), which formed the initial nucleus of his foundation. This association was recognized as a Pious Union in 1940. On October 21, 1964, the Archbishop of Valencia, Msgr. Marcelino Olaechea, canonically erected the association as a Secular Institute of diocesan right under the name Obreras de la Cruz. On June 12, 1971, the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, with the approval of Pope Paul VI, approved the constitutions of the institute and granted it the status of pontifical right (Decretum laudis). On that day, which also marked the founder's golden priestly jubilee, Pope Paul VI named him a Prelate of Honor of His Holiness. The institute developed rapidly in Spain before expanding into other countries in Europe and America.

After several months of a painful illness, Vicente Garrido Pastor passed away on April 16, 1975, in Moncada, in the province of Valencia. His funeral, celebrated by the Archbishop of Valencia, Msgr. José María García Lahiguera, bore witness to a deep popular fervor and a reputation for holiness that was already well established. The cause for beatification and canonization was officially opened at the diocesan level in Valencia on June 12, 1990, after obtaining the nihil obstat from the Roman Curia on February 28, 1989. The diocesan inquiry was closed on September 14, 1999, in Moncada. The decree of validity for this inquiry was promulgated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on October 20, 2000. In 2012, the Archdiocese of Valencia began the study of a scientifically inexplicable healing attributed to his intercession. The diocesan inquiry into this alleged miracle was closed on October 4, 2013, and the file was transmitted to the Roman Curia for examination.

On June 14, 2016, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Vicente Garrido Pastor. By this act, the Spanish priest was declared Venerable.

The spirituality of Vicente Garrido Pastor rests on a deep contemplation of the mystery of the Cross, viewed not as passive suffering, but as the supreme expression of Christ's redemptive love. He was a precursor to the theology of the laity promoted by the Second Vatican Council, insisting that the laity, particularly women, have a specific vocation to sanctify temporal realities and the world of work from within.

Recognized for his gift of counsel and his patience, he was a highly sought-after spiritual director for priests, religious, and married couples. His legacy continues today through the Secular Institute of the Workers of the Cross, whose members strive to live secular consecration in the midst of the world, bearing witness to the love of Christ in their daily and professional lives.