The Pastoral Penitenciaria organises two Masses for the Merced in Málaga's prisons
The bishop of Málaga, José Antonio Satué, will preside on Saturday, September 19th over a celebration at the Archidona prison; another will take place on September 26th in Alhaurín de la Torre.
Redacción · Publicada el September 12, 2026
The Pastoral Penitenciaria of Málaga has organised two religious celebrations on the occasion of the feast of the Virgen de la Merced in the diocese's penitentiary centres. The first will be held on Saturday, September 19th at the Archidona prison (Málaga II), with the presence of the bishop of Málaga, José Antonio Satué. The second will take place on Saturday, September 26th at the Alhaurín de la Torre penitentiary centre (Málaga I).
According to the chaplain of the Alhaurín de la Torre Penitentiary Centre, Pedro Fernández Alejo, the Pastoral Penitenciaria proposes the Virgen de la Merced as «a guide and model of faith and hope» for the prison population.
The diocese of Málaga attends, in addition to the prison of the Autonomous City of Melilla, three penitentiary centres: Málaga I, in Alhaurín de la Torre; Málaga II, in Archidona; and the Centro de Inserción Social Evaristo Martín Nieto, for people in the third degree of imprisonment. According to the diocesan delegate, the prison population of these centres is around one thousand eight hundred people.
Pastoral care relies on three Trinitarian chaplains and thirty volunteers, who attend the Alhaurín de la Torre and Archidona centres weekly. In Archidona, there is also a team made up of the chaplain and five volunteers from Antequera, together with another four volunteers from the city of Málaga.
Fernández Alejo points out that the pastoral work is based on personal encounter with each inmate who wishes it: «dialogue, listening, welcome, carried out from an evangelical spirit, generates a climate of trust and an awakening of the deepest human and religious feelings». This work is complemented by weekly eucharists, prayer, lectio divina and formation in human and Christian values.
Pastoral Penitenciaria Week
Alongside the Merced celebrations, the Pastoral Penitenciaria also maintains its traditional Semana de Pastoral Penitenciaria, a nationwide initiative to raise awareness among Christian communities about the reality of people deprived of liberty.
The delegate explains that the aim is «to raise awareness and motivate Christians from the parishes and the diocese, to live the evangelical commitment of feeling for prisoners as something belonging to the Christian community, recognising Christ in each of them». The motto chosen for this week is: «Cristo sacramento del encuentro con los presos. Alzad la mirada, se acerca vuestra liberación» [Christ, sacrament of the encounter with prisoners. Lift up your eyes, your liberation is near].
According to the chaplain of the Alhaurín de la Torre Penitentiary Centre, Pedro Fernández Alejo, the Pastoral Penitenciaria proposes the Virgen de la Merced as «a guide and model of faith and hope» for the prison population.
The diocese of Málaga attends, in addition to the prison of the Autonomous City of Melilla, three penitentiary centres: Málaga I, in Alhaurín de la Torre; Málaga II, in Archidona; and the Centro de Inserción Social Evaristo Martín Nieto, for people in the third degree of imprisonment. According to the diocesan delegate, the prison population of these centres is around one thousand eight hundred people.
Pastoral care relies on three Trinitarian chaplains and thirty volunteers, who attend the Alhaurín de la Torre and Archidona centres weekly. In Archidona, there is also a team made up of the chaplain and five volunteers from Antequera, together with another four volunteers from the city of Málaga.
Fernández Alejo points out that the pastoral work is based on personal encounter with each inmate who wishes it: «dialogue, listening, welcome, carried out from an evangelical spirit, generates a climate of trust and an awakening of the deepest human and religious feelings». This work is complemented by weekly eucharists, prayer, lectio divina and formation in human and Christian values.
Pastoral Penitenciaria Week
Alongside the Merced celebrations, the Pastoral Penitenciaria also maintains its traditional Semana de Pastoral Penitenciaria, a nationwide initiative to raise awareness among Christian communities about the reality of people deprived of liberty.
The delegate explains that the aim is «to raise awareness and motivate Christians from the parishes and the diocese, to live the evangelical commitment of feeling for prisoners as something belonging to the Christian community, recognising Christ in each of them». The motto chosen for this week is: «Cristo sacramento del encuentro con los presos. Alzad la mirada, se acerca vuestra liberación» [Christ, sacrament of the encounter with prisoners. Lift up your eyes, your liberation is near].