The priest Gonzalo Martín, parish priest of Benalmádena, will preach the novena in honour of the Patroness of Málaga. He calls for unity and faith for the diocese.
The priest Gonzalo Martín, parish priest of Virgen del Carmen in Benalmádena Costa and delegate for Catechesis, will be one of the preachers at the upcoming novena in honour of the Virgin of Victory, patroness of Málaga. In an interview published by Diario Sur, the clergyman expressed his desire for the Málaga diocese to be "first-rate" in fidelity and a spirit of listening.
Martín, who has been a priest for 36 years and is originally from Madrid but ordained in Toledo, asserts that his connection to the Virgin stems from his childhood. "In my family, I was taught to love her as a true mother," he states. His first contact with the Patroness was a few years ago when he participated in the pilgrimage of the Cristo de la Sierra, which departed from Málaga to the Valley of Abdalajís, where they made a floral offering at the Sanctuary of Victory.
Last year, he experienced another special moment: after obtaining an image of the Virgin that presides over his parish, he received the call to preach on one of the days of the novena. "I experienced it as a true caress from the Virgin," he confesses. Additionally, his niece is named Victoria, "a name that for us always evokes trust, hope, and blessing."
From the Virgin, Martín especially asks for her faith: "That ability to believe even when it seemed humanly impossible." He also holds her up as a model of a synodal Church, because "she listens before speaking, welcomes without excluding anyone."
The priest, who is also the delegate for Catechesis, wants those who attend the novena to "leave with renewed hearts" and that "no one leaves the Cathedral the same way they entered." He asks the Patroness for unity for the Málaga Church, to support the bishop, the priests, and the laity, and to awaken new vocations.
With a nod to the rise of Málaga CF, Martín concludes: "May the Virgin of Victory grant us to be a first-rate diocese, in fidelity to her Son, in a spirit of listening and of missionary disciples."
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