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On March 24, 2002, the Miles Jesu community in Avila, Spain celebrated the Institute’s approval from the Vatican with a Solemn Mass presided by His Excellency Adolfo Gonzalez de Montes, the Bishop of Avila, in the medieval Dominican Monastery of Saint Thomas.
“We are glad we decided to choose a church that has a connection to Queen Isabel, especially since Avila is Miles Jesu’s center for promotion of the cause of Queen Isabel. We also wanted a church that was large enough to hold the people that we expected. Saint Thomas was the perfect church for the event,” said the director of the Avila community.
The Monastery of Saint Thomas, which was constructed under the inspiration of Friar Tomas de Torquemada, was completed in the year 1492. The church contains the tomb of Don Juan, son of Isabel and Ferdinand, which gives the church its connection to Isabel the Catholic. In numerous places the church contains the “yoke and arrows,” the symbol of the Catholic Monarchs. The monastery was also the seat of the Spanish Inquisition in Avila.
About 400 people from Avila attended the Mass. Fr. Mark Gelis, M.J., Vicar Director of Miles Jesu, and Fr. Romeo Salcido, M.J. concelebrated the Mass with the Bishop. In his sermon, the Bishop spoke of the great importance of the vocation of the laity, especially the need for it in Spain.
After the Mass, Fr. Gelis spoke about the history of Miles Jesu and especially its deep roots in Avila. The house that the Avila community lives in was once owned by the grandparents of Fr. Alphonsus Maria Duran, MJ, and where, as a small child, he stayed with his grandparents during the Spanish Civil war.
The Mass was an encouragement for the people of Avila, as well as the members of the Miles Jesu community, that Miles jesu really has a special mission in the land of “cantos y santos” (“rocks and saints”), a fact which is now recognized officially by Holy Mother Church.
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