The Jesuit priest Juan José Rodríguez Ponce passed away on August 10 in Valladolid at the age of 80, according to the Archdiocese of Madrid, where he carried out his entire ministry.
Born in Villafranca de los Barros (Badajoz) on November 16, 1945, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1963 and was ordained a priest in Madrid in 1974. He made his final vows in 1981.
His first assignment was at the parish of San Raimundo de Peñafort, in Pozo del Tío Raimundo, where he served as parish priest from 1974 to 1982, a period during which he coincided with fellow Jesuit José María de Llanos. Between 1977 and 1982 he was archpriest of San Carlos Borromeo.
He later held various diocesan and order positions: episcopal vicar of Vicariates IV and V (1986-1994), general secretary of the Ecclesiastical Province of Madrid, provincial delegate for Pastoral Care, and parish priest of San Francisco de Borja, among others. He also served as assistant vicar to the Vicariate of the Clergy and spiritual director of the Conciliar Seminary of Madrid, a role he held for 25 years.
He devoted a significant part of his ministry to leading Spiritual Exercises retreats and accompanying seminarians, priests, and laypeople. In his later years, he collaborated in the formation of Jesuit theologians and resided in the parishes of San Francisco Javier and San Luis Gonzaga, in the Ventilla neighborhood.
The funeral chapel was set up on August 11 at the San Isidro funeral home. The funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday the 12th at 10:00 a.m. in the chapel of the funeral home, and at 11:00 a.m. he will be buried in the San Isidro cemetery.