Calle del Divino Redentor

Before it had a street name, this corner of northern Madrid had a school. In 1927, when Valdeacederas and Pinos Altos were open ground dotted with shacks, the Missionaries of Christian Doctrine opened the Divino Redentor school for the children of the poorest families of the slum. The street inherited its title. “Redeemer” comes from the Latin redemptor, the one who ransoms, and names Christ as the savior who frees from sin. There is no saint or historical figure here, but Christ himself under that title. The school also left a less expected mark. On 17 January 1933, in the middle of a snowfall, two priests asked permission to teach catechism to the neighborhood’s children. One was Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei, who began here his work with the neediest of Madrid. The calle del Divino Redentor still bears the name of that school that arrived before the houses.