Nearly 100 people joined members of the Secular Institute of the Crusaders of Mary for a Sept. 28 Mass to mark the 30th anniversary of Venerable Father Tomás Morales, founder of the Crusaders of Mary.
Father Morales was a Jesuit priest and the founder of the male and female branches of the secular institute as well as the movement for couples “Homes of Mary,” and the apostolic youth movement “Militia of Mary.”
Each year, the Crusaders of Mary in Washington, D.C., hold a special celebration in honor of their founder. This year’s celebration opened with Mass at St. Anthony of Padua, the parish to which the Crusaders of Mary belong. The Liturgy was celebrated by Father Fred Close, pastor of the parish, and six other priests. A choir composed of Crusaders and other young people accompanied the Eucharistic celebration.
Venerable Father Morales was born in Venezuela in 1908, but grew up in Spain. He was ordained a priest in 1942. In 1946, he began an apostolate among young workers and cofounded El Hogar del Empleado (The Home of the Worker), an apostolic movement that served young people by cultivating their spirituality. This was the beginning of the Institute of the Crusaders of Mary, a secular institute of men and women who are consecrated to God with the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, but who have secular jobs and who work for the evangelization of the world, especially of young people and families.
Today, the Crusaders of Mary are present in 12 countries. In the United States, Washington, D.C. is currently the only place where the Crusaders of Mary are present.
Father Morales died in 1994 and in 2017, Pope Francis the heroic virtues of the priest and declared him Venerable.
Within this archdiocese, many young people, families, and workers have benefited from Fr. Morales’ charism through the daily witness of the Crusaders of Mary and their activities, especially silent retreats and Ignatian spiritual exercises for young adult women, spiritual direction, and mornings of prayer for families.
For more information about the Crusaders of Mary, visit their website: https://www.crusadersofmary.org/ or write to militantsofmary@gmail.com
Father Fred Close, pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in Washington is the main celebrant of a Sept. 28 Mass in honor of Venerable Father Tomás Morales, founder the Secular Institute of the Crusaders of Mary. (Photo courtesy of the Secular Institute of the Crusaders of Mary)
