Ignacio Belzunce and a lesson in Jaizkibel The demonsby F.M. Dostoyevsky. A journey to moral "solidarity"Prayer to God and solidarity with the poor are inseparable."Father Luis de Lezama died today, January 11, at 5:00 p.m., after receiving the Holy Sacraments, at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra (Madrid). The funeral chapel will be set up at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, January 13, in the Parish of Santa María la Blanca.
Lezama leaves a legacy of faith, solidarity and social entrepreneurship. Born in Amurrio (Álava) in 1936, this priest marked the lives of generations not only from the altar, but also as a visionary who united evangelization with concrete initiatives to dignify the most vulnerable.
From a neighborhood priest to a dream promoter
Ordained a priest in 1962, Father Lezama began his ministry in humble contexts, working with young people and families facing economic and social difficulties. However, it was in the 1970s that his work took on a distinctive character. In 1974, in the neighborhood of Vallecas, he founded La Taberna del Alabarderoa restaurant that became much more than a gastronomic space. There he gave employment and training to at-risk youth, many of them homeless, providing an opportunity to transform their lives.
This initiative, which combined hospitality training with human and spiritual formation, was the beginning of an innovative model that Lezama replicated in other parts of Spain and America. His work grew and gave rise to the Lezama Group, a hospitality business group comprising 22 restaurants located in cities such as Madrid, Marbella, Washington, Seattle and Seville. To give legal support to this work of training and social promotion, he created the Iruaritz Lezama Foundation, thus consolidating a work that impacted the lives of thousands of people.
Throughout his life, Father Luis de Lezama received numerous recognitions, the Government of Spain awarded him the Encomienda de la Orden de Isabel la Católica and the Encomienda de la Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio, while in France he was named Knight of Honor of the Order of Civil Merit.
A social commitment born of the Gospel
Lezama understood his work as a way of living the Gospel concretely. For him, giving employment and education to young people was not only an act of charity, but a means of restoring their dignity. His proposal was to evangelize through a job well done. This integrative approach, in which faith and social action went hand in hand, made him a point of reference both inside and outside the Church.
In addition to his social work, Father Lezama was the author of several books, in which he shared his experience and reflected on how the Church could respond to the challenges of the contemporary world. Among his works, the following stand out The Gospel in a tavernin which he recounts how his initiatives were born of his faith in a God who acts in everyday life.
A new chapter in Montecarmelo
In 2006, Father Lezama returned to the parish as a parish priest under the guidance of Cardinal Archbishop D. Antonio María Rouco Varela, who entrusted him with a special task: to start a parish in Montecarmelo, north of Madrid. In this emerging enclave, Father Lezama left his mark by giving priority to the construction of a new parish church in Montecarmelo. Santa María la Blanca SchoolThe school became a reference for its pedagogical model and its Christian inspiration.
An enduring legacy
The death of Father Luis de Lezama leaves a huge void, but also a legacy that will continue to inspire those who believe in the transforming power of Christian love. His life is a testimony of how faith can be translated into concrete action to build a more just world.
Today, those who passed through his schools, those who found a new path thanks to his projects and those who knew him, mourn his loss, but also celebrate a life dedicated to God and to others. May Father Luis de Lezama rest in peace, a priest who knew how to transform compassion into action and dreams into life-changing realities.
