The article from EWTN News (June 19, 2025) reports on the establishment of a new community of hermits, the “Hermits of Sts. Torquatus, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,” in the Diocese of Guadix, Spain. Four Venezuelan men, Carlos Andrés, Óscar Eduardo, Osmar Moisés, and Emilio José, have taken up residence at the historic hermitage of St. Torquatus, a site associated with the first-century martyrdom of one of the apostle James’s disciples. The foundation, initiated by “Bishop” Francisco Jesús Orozco, aims to “keep the memory of the place alive” and “pray for the Church proclaimed by St. Torquatus,” with a particular focus on “perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament” and intercession “for the needs of our Holy Father, the pope.” The ceremony consecrating the hermits was attended by members of the “Congregation of Martha and Mary,” a community of women religious. While the narrative presents a seemingly pious endeavor, the entire framework operates within the structures of the post-conciliar neo-church, rendering its spiritual claims suspect and its “prayers for the pope” a direct intercession for the usurper Leo XIV, the chief architect of modernist apostasy.
The Illusion of Continuity: A Neo-Church Mimicry of Authentic Eremitism
The article meticulously constructs an image of continuity with early Christian monasticism, referencing St. Torquatus, a first-century martyr, and the “desert” as a place of encounter with God. However, this veneer of tradition masks a profound theological vacuum. Authentic Catholic eremitism, as codified in the 1917 Code of Canon Law (Can. 487, § 1; Can. 604), was a state of life recognized and regulated by the true Church, demanding strict separation from the world, perpetual silence, regular prayer, fasting, and penance, all under the direct authority of a legitimate bishop and within the unchanging framework of Catholic doctrine. The hermits of Guadix, while adopting external symbols like a “staff, a water gourd, and sandals,” are a “diocesan foundation” of the post-conciliar sect, meaning their “consecration” and “way of life” are ultimately subject to the whims of a modernist “bishop” and the dictates of a “Church” that has abandoned the Faith. Their “perpetual adoration” is not directed towards the true Eucharist, validity of which is gravely doubted in the conciar structures, but likely towards a protestantized “eucharistic presence” or even a bare host, rendering their adoration, at best, vain and, at worst, idolatrous. The very notion of a “community of hermits” is an oxymoron; true hermits are solitary souls, not members of a collective “community” with “habits” and “superior generals,” a structure more akin to a religious order than the solitary vocation of the desert fathers. This is not a return to the purity of the early Church, but a theatrical performance of piety within the crumbling edifice of the abomination of desolation.
Praying for the Usurper: A Spiritual Complicity in Apostasy
The most damning aspect of this article is the explicit mention that the hermits’ primary intercessory duty is “for the needs of our Holy Father, the pope.” In the context of the post-conciliar usurpation, this “pope” is Leo XIV (Robert Prevost), the latest in a line of antipopes beginning with John XXIII. To pray for the “needs” of a manifest heretic and apostate is not merely futile; it is a direct act of spiritual complicity with the forces of Modernism. As St. Robert Bellarmine unequivocally states, a manifest heretic ceases to be Pope and head, just as he ceases to be a Christian and member of the body of the Church (De Romano Pontifice, II, 30). The hermits, by their own stated mission, are actively interceding for the very individual who embodies the “synthesis of all errors” condemned by St. Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis. Their “perpetual adoration” becomes a perpetual prayer for the triumph of the conciliar revolution, a spiritual bulwark for the enemies of Christ’s true Church. This is not prayer; it is collaboration. It is a public declaration of allegiance to the neo-church, a sign that their “desert” is not a place of purification from the world’s errors, but a refuge for those who wish to remain comfortably within the system of apostasy, offering a veneer of “holiness” to a structure that is fundamentally unholy. The “needs” they pray for are not the needs of the true Church, but the needs of the Antichrist’s counter-church to consolidate its power and further dismantle the remnants of Catholic Tradition.
The “Congregation of Martha and Mary”: A Modernist Charism
The article notes that the hermits are “guided by and inspired by the charism of the Congregation of Martha and Mary,” whose founder, “Mother Ángela,” and superior general, “Mother Rutilia,” attended the ceremony. The very name “Martha and Mary” is a subtle but profound indicator of modernist infiltration. While Scripture presents Mary as choosing the “better part” (Luke 10:42), the modernist distortion often elevates Martha’s active service over Mary’s contemplative listening, reflecting the conciliar shift from the primacy of the supernatural to a naturalistic, social-gospel oriented “Church in the world.” A “charism” originating from such a congregation is almost certainly tainted by the errors of the post-conciliar era: a focus on “dialogue,” “social justice,” “ecumenism,” and the “dignity of man” rather than the exclusive salvific mission of the Catholic Church and the necessity of conversion. The presence of these women religious at the “consecration” further solidifies the hermits’ ties to the neo-church’s network of communities, all operating outside the true Church’s canonical structure and often promoting doctrines contrary to the Faith. Their “white tablecloth” and “cross with nails” are mere external symbols, devoid of the true theological weight they would carry in a pre-conciliar context, serving instead as props in a ritual that mimics Catholic piety while lacking its substance.
The Desert of the Neo-Church: A Place of Spiritual Barrenness
“Bishop” Orozco’s homily, as quoted, reveals the shallow, naturalistic theology underpinning this foundation. He states, “In the desert of Face Retama you will never be alone. Where a Christian or where a hermit lives, he gives himself, suffers, makes sacrifices, and lives in fidelity to prayer and contemplation; there the entire Church is with him. That is the desert, that is your vocation.” This is a far cry from the true desert tradition, which emphasized radical solitude, intense asceticism, and a direct, unmediated combat with the devil and one’s own concupiscence, all for the sake of union with God and the salvation of souls. The modernist “desert” is a comfortable, community-oriented “retreat” where “the entire Church is with him,” a psychological comfort zone rather than a crucible of spiritual warfare. The “sacrifices” mentioned are likely minimal compared to the rigorous fasts and penances of authentic hermits. The “fidelity to prayer and contemplation” is suspect when the “prayer” is directed towards a false “pope” and the “contemplation” is likely infused with modernist spiritualities that prioritize subjective experience over objective truth. The “desert” of Face Retama is not a place of spiritual renewal for the true Church, but a spiritual wasteland within the neo-church, a place where the illusion of holiness is maintained while the substance of the Faith is abandoned. It is a desert of the soul, mirroring the spiritual desolation of the conciar structures themselves.
The Omission of True Doctrine: Silence as Betrayal
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the article is what it omits. There is no mention of the necessity of the true Faith for salvation (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus). There is no mention of the social reign of Christ the King over all nations and individuals, a doctrine so powerfully articulated by Pius XI in Quas Primas. There is no mention of the necessity of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice, or the grave doubts surrounding the validity of the Novus Ordo Missae. There is no mention of the dangers of Modernism, the errors of Vatican II, or the duty of Catholics to resist the conciliar revolution. The hermits are presented as praying for “the needs of the Church,” but which Church? The true Church, enduring in the faithful who profess the integral Catholic faith, or the post-conciliar sect that has abandoned it? The silence on these fundamental doctrines is not accidental; it is a deliberate omission that reveals the true nature of this “foundation.” It is a product of the neo-church, designed to create an aura of piety without challenging the status quo of apostasy. It is a “hermitage” for those who wish to appear holy while remaining spiritually blind to the crisis engulfing the true Church. The “memory of the place alive” they seek to keep is not the memory of the true Faith, but the memory of a “Church” that has betrayed its divine mission.
Conclusion: A Modernist Mirage in the Spanish Desert
The establishment of the “Hermits of Sts. Torquatus, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus” in Guadix is not a sign of spiritual renewal, but another manifestation of the post-conciliar neo-church’s desperate attempt to project an image of vitality and holiness. It is a carefully constructed mirage in the Spanish desert, designed to distract from the spiritual bankruptcy of the conciliar structures. Their “prayers for the pope” are prayers for the usurper Leo XIV, a manifest heretic and apostate. Their “charism” is rooted in a modernist congregation, and their “desert” is a comfortable retreat within the system of apostasy, not a place of radical combat for the true Faith. This foundation, far from being a beacon of hope, is a symptom of the deep-seated disease of Modernism that has infected the structures occupying the Vatican. It is a call not to authentic eremitism, but to a comfortable, compromised “spirituality” that leaves the soul exposed to the ravages of error. True hermits would be found not in the “desert” of the neo-church, but in the spiritual wilderness of a world in rebellion against God, praying for the restoration of the true Church and the triumph of Christ the King, not for the consolidation of the Antichrist’s reign.
Source:
4 Venezuelans form new community of hermits where Christianity began in Spain (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 19.06.2026