OFFICIAL NAME
Hogar de la Madre de todos los hombres, Madre de la Juventud
ALSO KNOWN AS
Hogar de la Madre
ACRONYM
HM
NAME IN OTHER LANGUAGES
English: Home of the Mother (HM). French: Foyer de la Mère (FM). Italian: Focolare della Madre (FM).
ESTABLISHED
1982
HISTORY
The Hogar de la Madre was initiated by Reverend Rafael Alonso (born in 1947 in Jerez del Marquesado, Granada, Spain; received priestly ordination from the archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Marcelo González Martín, on 6 July 1980).
From the outset of his priestly life he was involved in working with young people. He celebrated Mass every morning with a group of students, and he inspired their desire to aim for holiness by responding to God’s will and through a vocation to apostolate.
On 29 July 1982 a group of fifty five young women went on pilgrimage to Rome. Six of them made commitments to Christian life at Saint Peter’s tomb as a sign of fidelity to the Church. This marked the beginning of the Hogar de la Madre de la Juventud (HMJ).
On 27 December 1983 (the Holy Year of the Redemption) nine young men undertook the same pilgrimage and made their commitments, thus initiating the men’s branch of the HM.
On 22 September 1984, four young women who felt the call to consecrated life according to the charism of HM, started the Siervas del Hogar de la Madre.
On 8 September 1990, the Siervos del Hogar de la Madre, began with the express aim of living the HM mission as priests.
Both institutes were recognised separately as public associations of the faithful in the diocese of Cuenca in 1994.
On 25 December 1995, the first nucleus of HM laity was born. These were people who wished to live according to the HM mission within their families. On 3 June 2010, the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed recognition of HM as an international association of the faithful of .
IDENTITY
According to the statutes of the Association, HM is “a gift that the Lord wishes to give his Mother”. It is a spiritual family of Eucharistic adoration where each one desires to belong totally, solely and forever to God and to Mary. Every HM member’s soul should be a sanctuary exclusively for God in which a covenant is made with the Lord and with Mary. The ultimate aim of HM is the holiness of its members for the glory of God, under the maternal protection of Mary. It was born within the Church in order to be at the service of the Church.
It has three specific missions:
1. Advocacy of the Eucharist.
2. To safeguard the honour of Our Holy Mother, particularly in the prerogative of her virginity.
3. The winning-over of young people to Jesus Christ.
Special attention is given to fostering worship and adoration of the Eucharist and to fostering Marian devotion in the Church. Apostolate is carried out with young people through summer camps, pilgrimages, retreats and spiritual exercises. A feature of the apostolate of the movement is the use of means of communication to spread the Gospel and the truth.
ORGANISATION
The president of the Association is Rev. Rafael Alonso Reymundo, the founder. The council of the Association assists the president in the programming of apostolic activities, the creation of new activities, and the management of the life of HM. It is composed of the general secretary, the general administrator, the presidents of the two public associations of the faithful and by two of the lay faithful. They meet twice a year.
The HM is a spiritual family in which all the members in the three missions described above share the same charism. The members freely take on commitments in spiritual life and apostolate, according to each one’s vocation and life status.
The HM is composed of people of different states in life:
1) the lay faithful, adults and young people (over 18), form two branches:
- the HM Laity (LHM), composed of lay people over 25 years of age, married and single.
- The Hogar de la Madre de la Juventud (HMJ), is for young people between the ages of 18 and 25.
Under 18s receive Christian instruction according to the charism of HM in the various activities organised for them.
2) The members of the public association of the faithful Siervos del Hogar de la Madre and those of the public association of the faithful Siervas del Hogar de la Madre, live according to their respective statutes in consecrated life and form part of the HM international association of the faithful.
MEMBERSHIP
The HM has around 500 members and is present in 11 countries: Europe (6), South America (3), North America (2).
PUBLICATIONS
Hogar de la Madre, a biannual magazine (in Spanish, English and Italian). HM Zoom plus, a biannual magazine for children (in Spanish, English and Italian).
WEB SITE
www.hogardelamadre.org
HEADQUARTERS
Hogar de la Madre
Via del Mascherone, 61, 00186 – Roma
Tel.: (+39) 0645449932
E-mail: romashm@hogardelamadre.org
