Fuentes de Carbonero el Mayor (Segovia – Spain)

God wanted me to find the church of Fuentes de Carbonero abandoned in 1965, when I was looking for a place of retreat and prayer. While I was walking through the Castilian plateau on a cloudy day, a ray of light illuminated the mica stones that abound in the area and suddenly everything was illuminated and I was very impressed: the church in the middle of that steppe was a true apparition. It was open and empty; it still had the altarpiece and some images; the sacristy with a wooden platform served as a place for me to sleep. I lived there for fifteen days, praying, alone and with great fruits. Seeing that it was a wonderful place, I retired there other times, living in solitude, fasting and praying and sleeping with my sleeping bag in the sacristy.

Since there was a river nearby, I decided to take the brothers of the shantytown with me for a few days in summer so that they could also have a vacation. We had a week of rest, communion and love. I was impressed that while all the houses in the village were destroyed, the only thing left standing in that abandoned village was the church, and a church full of poor people. I told the brothers from the shantytown to gather straw. They went to the field and each family prepared a bed with straw and blankets. It was exciting, like making a movie. Outside, all the houses were in ruins; inside, the church was full of poor people.

Pilgrimages to Farlete (Zaragoza – Spain)

Discovering Charles de Foucauld in the Farlete Grottos “There I spent three days in a grotto, the grotto of St. Caprasio, alone, without food, studying Charles de Foucauld, who gave me a way of living in the presence of the Lord.” Kiko in the Beginning of the Year Convivence 2016-17 Before beginning a trip through Europe and to prepare for it, Fr. Aguilar wanted to take Kiko to the desert

Pilgrimages to Zaragoza (Spain)

The Virgin of the Pillar On January 2, 40, on the banks of the Ebro River, the Virgin Mary, still living in Palestine, came in mortal flesh to Zaragoza to comfort the apostle James (Santiago), accompanied by a small group of converts, who had been preaching all day. Mary left them a jasper column around which the Christians of the first century built, as a memorial, a chapel that was

Pilgrimages to Barbastro (Huesca – Spain)

Barbastro and its Martyrs During the Spanish Civil War, the Catholic Church suffered great persecution, with 10,000 people killed for their faith. Barbastro, despite its small size, was the diocese with the most martyrs in Spain, 88% of the clergy. “Spain has given cursillos of Christianity, Opus Dei, the Neocatechumenal Way and everything you want, do you know why? Because it has lived a Spanish civil war where more than

Pilgrimages to Fuentes de Carbonero el Mayor (Segovia – Spain)

Church of Fuentes de Carbonero A place for pilgrimage and celebration, a witness of the history that God makes with us. “I was impressed that while all the houses in the village were destroyed, the only thing left standing in that abandoned village was the church, and a church full of poor people. Here we celebrated the Easter Vigil with the brothers of the shantytown and those of the first