The church of Santa Eufemia in Antequera hosted a thanksgiving mass on Monday, 20th July, promoted by the Cofradía de los Dolores, in honour of Blessed Tiburcio Arnaiz, whose relic has been kept by the brotherhood since this Lent.
The Cofradía de los Dolores de Antequera promoted a thanksgiving mass last Monday, 20th July, in the church of Santa Eufemia, dedicated to Blessed Tiburcio Arnaiz. The celebration coincided with the parish mass of Santiago, which takes place every Monday at 8:00 PM in the same temple, so both Eucharists were combined into one, avoiding duplicate events on a working day.
The main feast of the blessed is commemorated on 18th July, but as it fell on a Saturday, it could not be celebrated liturgically over the weekend, so it was decided to move it to Monday. The mass was presided over by the parish priest of Santiago and San Pedro, Francisco de Paula Aurioles, and was accompanied musically on the organ by José Antonio Morales.
Tiburcio Arnaiz Muñoz was born in Valladolid on 11th August 1865 and moved to Málaga, where he passed away on 18th July 1926. He belonged to the Society of Jesus and, along with María Isabel González del Valle, founded the Missionaries of Rural Doctrines, with the aim of helping the poor, especially the working classes and people living in rural areas.
During the homily, the parish priest highlighted the connection of the blessed with Antequera, as Arnaiz visited the city several times, touring convents, parishes, and leading spiritual exercises, such as in the conventual church of the Minim Sisters. He emphasized that the Valladolid priest joined the Society of Jesus after his mother's death, choosing the Bética Province to train discreetly. His work focused on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, tirelessly serving in Málaga and its province, where he visited marginalised neighbourhoods such as Perchel, La Trinidad, or the San Andrés area, facing social resistance but persevering in his apostolate and charity.
Francisco de Paula Aurioles also reflected on the loss of religious symbols in homes and parishes, which he interpreted as a displacement of Christ in the imagination and practice, replaced by contemporary idols that generate disorientation. Therefore, he encouraged the brotherhoods to follow Christ exclusively as the only legitimate axis, ordering identity, symbols, and social action around Him. Citing the Gospel of Jonah, he validated conversion through a proclamation centred on Christ and called for a moral demand without half-measures.
The parish priest pointed out that there is a latent devotion in Antequera, but socially lagging behind festive and sporting stimuli, as evidenced over the weekend with the success of the Spanish national team. Therefore, he praised the initiative of the Cofradía de los Dolores, which has “broken ground” by bringing prayer into the public space, and urged to turn this advance into a community habit through Eucharistic adoration, reactivating the Nocturnal Adoration, which was vigorous in the city.
Father Arnaiz, who walked the streets of Antequera following San Manuel González – the promoter of Adoration in Málaga – can be a model to follow. In light of his new diocesan mission, the parish priest expressed his desire to reinstate adoration practices in parishes, brotherhoods, and associations, focusing on young people and adults, transferring devotion from the temple to the street to compete for public space with the culture of leisure. He warned of the risk of “civic fatigue and indolence” and proposed discipline as an antidote, with the desire of “not to tire,” as shared by the saint with Antequera blood.
At the end of the mass, the relic of the Blessed was venerated, which was brought to the patronal temple, as well as a printed portrait under the patronal altar of Santa Eufemia. The Cofradía de los Dolores has kept the relic since this Lent, and the initiative reinforces the devotion to the blessed in the city.
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