In Spain, a santero is, among other things, an artist who sculpts saints out of wood. This is what they called Fr. José Torres Padilla in Seville, because with his spiritual guidance, he helped “sculpt” people, to live in virtue and to get closer to God.
In fact, he was the spiritual director of great religious sisters, among them St. Angela of the Cross, with whom he founded the Company of the Cross.
On November 9, 2024, in a ceremony led by the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, this diocesan priest has been added to the ranks of the beatified in the Cathedral of Seville.
Always praying
What was Fr. Torres’ secret that allowed him to guide others wisely?
The postulator of his cause for beatification, Bishop Teodoro León Muñón — the auxiliary bishop of Seville — answers in an interview on the website of the Andalusian archdiocese:
He didn’t dedicate a few moments to prayer, but was praying all the time in close union with God. (…) For Fr. Torres, the expression of love for God was prayer. Both for himself and for the people he led. (…) He was always in the presence of God. His recollection, his composure, and his words always expressed this reality.
Mass was the center of his life, Bishop Leon explains. And Fr. Torres also spent several hours a day doing different forms of prayer: mental, vocal ….
Poor with the poor
In addition, this Spanish priest attended to the physical and spiritual needs of the people he met. He spoke to them about Christ, offered them the sacraments, etc.
“He became poor with the poor to attract them to Christ,” the postulator says. “He was a kind of moneylender who never expected to be paid back.” He paid for the studies of seminarians, sent money to exiles, and more.
He also took in workers from the villages who went to Seville to see a doctor, visited prisons and hospitals, and helped widows and young women who lacked resources.
Fighting to be selfless
Fr. Torres fought his own ego and taught others to do the same. He said people should not let their ego rule, but should be selfless; should “trample” their egoism, and “bury it if possible.” This was how he invited everyone to fight against selfishness, the great enemy of love.
And he invited all to humility, which he said is “necessary to avoid building our monument to ourselves, and to be able to grow in a virtuous life, always counting on the grace of God,” says Bishop Leon.
Spiritual attunement with St. Angela
The postulator and biographer of Fr. Torres highlights the “union of spirits” that existed between Fr. Torres and St. Angela, which made possible the foundation of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross.
For Bishop Leon, it was “a case of friendship, of perfect understanding, between [spiritual] director and [the person] directed. Two souls that meet and go, spiritually united, to seek the will of God.”
God’s purse
José Torres Padilla was born in 1811 in La Gomera, the second smallest island of the Canary Islands, into a very religious family.
His father (a farmer) and his mother died when José was only 10 years old. He and his three siblings were taken in and cared for by his aunt and uncle.
Torres Padilla lived first in Tenerife, then in Valencia and Seville. Thanks to scholarships and donations, he was able to finish his studies to become a priest.
He always lived very austerely, practiced charity, and mortified himself with penances, explains a brief biography on the website of the Archdiocese of Seville.
“God is richer than all the bankers in the world. The bottom of God’s purse has not yet been seen,” he used to say.
A holy teacher
He was a professor at the Seminary of Seville, a consultant during the First Vatican Council, and a canon of the cathedral.
After co-founding the religious congregation with St. Angela of the Cross and collaborating in its initial development, he died in 1878.
On the diocesan website of Seville, María del Monte Chacón — episcopal delegate for the causes of the saints of Seville — explains that the miracle recognized for his beatification was the scientifically inexplicable cure of one of the Sisters of the Cross from heart disease.
She invites us to be inspired by Fr. Torres, “a priest who stood out for his humility and who was decisive in the faith journey of many religious.”
And today we celebrate...