POVEDA, PEDRO

POVEDA, PEDRO. - Spanish priest, founder of the Teresian Association, b. 3 Dec. 1874 in

Ordained a priest (1897), he was a professor and spiritual director in the seminary, combining these duties with the apostolate among the poor populations of the same city. Canon of Covadonga in 1906 and of Jaén in 1913, and penitentiary in 1921 of the Royal Chapel of Madrid, he devoted himself entirely to the Work he founded. His concerns had been of a pedagogical order since the early years of his priesthood. For this reason, he had obtained a teaching diploma and had founded two schools in Guadix. He was among the first to see the dangers that the progressive secularization of education presented for young people, and he wished to create within the Teresian Association a group of intellectually well-prepared individuals with a solid religious formation who could remedy the damage caused by the secular school. At his death, the Association had already spread throughout Spain, America, and Rome. His influence has been such that he is regarded as one of the foremost modern pedagogues. His thought has been transmitted through various publications: El provecho del alma (1909), which went through various editions (II. trans. Il progresso spirituale dell'anima, Milan 1940); La voz del amado; Visita a la Santina; Plan de vida; Para los niños; Ensayo de proyectos pedagógicos para la fundación de una institución católica de enseñanza; Consejos a los profesoras de las primeras Academias Teresianas; Jesus Maestro; Meditaciones y Consideraciones para las Teresianas, all works notable for the soundness of their doctrine, density of ideas, and the conciseness and clarity of their form. His cause for beatification has been introduced.