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SVD Parish in Madrid Marks 60 Years of Mission
Mariusz Mielczarek, SVD
The anniversary celebration took place on May 10, 2026, gathering many SVD confreres, parishioners, and guests in an atmosphere of thanksgiving and joy. In his homily, Cardinal José Cobo described the parish as a place of encounter, faith, and hope where people learn to read reality in the light of the Gospel. He emphasized that the Holy Spirit continues to build the Church by strengthening relationships, communion, and hope within the community. He also encouraged the faithful not merely to attend the parish, but to actively build it through participation, service, and by becoming signs of hope and transformation in society.
The history of this Marian title dates back to an ancient tradition in Garrovillas de Alconétar (Cáceres), where, according to legend, the Virgin appeared to a humble young girl. Over time, this devotion crossed the ocean to the Americas, taking firm root in the Dominican Republic, where Our Lady of Altagracia is today one of the country’s most beloved Marian figures.
Decades later, during Madrid’s rapid urban expansion in the 1960s, this same devotion found a new home in the Valdezarza neighborhood. Through a providential intervention connected to a faithful originally from Garrovillas, the newly established parish was entrusted to the patronage of Our Lady of Altagracia. The parish was inaugurated in 1966 and, since 2016, has been under the care of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD).
Today, despite the challenges of an aging community and an increasingly secularized environment, the parish remains a vibrant space of faith and mission. Its pastoral life is expressed through the daily celebration of the Eucharist, communal prayer, catechesis, care for the sick, and various initiatives that strengthen community life.
The 60th anniversary celebration became, above all, a moment of gratitude and renewed hope. Inspired by the missionary spirit of St. Arnold Janssen, the parish community continues to seek new ways of being a living presence of the Gospel in its neighborhood and beyond.
To read more about the Cardinal’s homily, [click here]
