Madrid marks a year since the death of Auxiliary Bishop José Antonio Álvarez
The Archdiocese of Madrid will celebrate a funeral Mass at 8 p.m. on October 1 at the Conciliar Seminary for Auxiliary Bishop José Antonio Álvarez, who died a year ago
On October 1 the Archdiocese of Madrid marks the first anniversary of the death of Auxiliary Bishop José Antonio Álvarez with a Mass at the Conciliar Seminary of Madrid.
Álvarez died in the early hours of October 1, 2025. The seminary will host a funeral Mass in his memory at 8 p.m.
The motto "Sígueme"
Álvarez took "Sígueme" ("Follow me") as his episcopal motto. Cardinal José Cobo, the archbishop of Madrid, said the words were not a formality but the thread running through his whole life. In his funeral homilies, Cobo said the Gospel call had been fulfilled in a man who responded promptly and faithfully to every request he received.
In the homily at the corpore insepulto Mass, Cobo said: "Today we feel that this 'follow me' has reached its fullness: Jesus has called you again, not for a mission on earth, but to enter definitive Life."
First celebrations: October 2025
On the day he died, the Almudena Cathedral hosted a first Mass in his memory. Cobo spoke of the affection the priests of Madrid had for him and recalled his work both as a bishop and as rector of the Conciliar Seminary.
Addressing his mother, Ángela, who was there with the rest of the family, the cardinal said: "You can be proud of your son."
Corpore insepulto Mass
The following day, Cobo presided at the corpore insepulto Mass, attended by 32 bishops and more than 500 priests.
The classmates with whom he had celebrated the silver jubilee of their ordination carried the coffin to the crypt of the Almudena. In his homily, Cobo turned to the parable of the sower to describe Álvarez as someone who sowed with dedication and trusted that God would make what he planted bear fruit.
"That is what our brother José Antonio has been," Cobo said, pointing to a life of self-giving and sacrifice.
A portrait: closeness, mercy, hope
Cobo described Álvarez as a man of "closeness, mercy and hope," able to refrain from judging, to open up paths and to look to the risen Christ with hope. "Whatever God wants" was a phrase he often repeated, the cardinal said, an expression of his faith and of his abandonment to the Lord.
A third Mass in October
On October 23, the Almudena Cathedral hosted another funeral Mass in his honor. Cobo said the diocese was gathering "after some days of silence and serenity." In his homily he bade farewell to a man who served the Church with simplicity and enthusiasm, and he highlighted his "evangelizing heart" and his firm trust in Jesus.
Cobo asked that no one simply "turn the page," recalling that "the life and death of our own leave a mark, and that time is needed to reflect on our priorities and continue the work he began."
From the seminary to the episcopate
José Antonio Álvarez Sánchez was born in Madrid on August 3, 1975. He earned a licentiate in theology from the San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University in 1998 and was ordained a priest on June 18, 2000, beginning his ministry in parishes in Madrid.
From 2008 to 2011 he took a master's degree in vocational discernment and spiritual accompaniment at the Pontifical University of Comillas. During his ministry he served as a parochial vicar and a university chaplain, among other posts in the diocese.
Pope Francis named him auxiliary bishop of Madrid on April 23, 2024, and he was consecrated a bishop on July 6, 2024. He had been a member of the Episcopal Commission for Laity, Family and Life of the Spanish Bishops' Conference since July 9, 2024. He combined his work as a bishop with his post as rector of the Conciliar Seminary.
