Pelegrín Muñoz Gracia passed away on October 14, at the age of 93. In August 2025, he would have completed forty years as a priest, after a life that had several very definite stages, all of them lived with full dedication and great generosity.
Born in Teruel in 1931, he soon had to assume, to a certain extent, the role of head of the family due to the early death of his father, helping his mother to raise his three younger siblings.
Vocation to Opus Dei and the beginnings of Tajamar
In his hometown, in the early 1950s, he discovered his vocation to the Opus Dei and some time later, in 1958, he moved to Madrid to take over the management of TajamarThe project, an educational and sports project that had taken its first steps in February of that same year, transformed the life and configuration of a large area of Vallecas.
Where, until then, shantytowns and living conditions were predominant, new horizons began to emerge, and Pelegrín Muñoz played a significant role in this, with his efforts to obtain financial aid to enable the purchase of the land and the development of the sector, where the Tajamar buildings were erected, which today continue to provide services to the neighborhood.
With his tireless work, combined with his sympathy, simplicity and great ability to deal with people from all walks of life, Pelegrín Muñoz promoted the creation of the Tajamar Board of Trustees, and later the Foundation of the same name, of which he was the first director.
Priestly ordination
In 1981 he was appointed advisor to the Social Works Commission of Cajamadrid, but, a couple of years later, he left his job at Tajamar to move to the University of Navarra, where he continued his studies in Theology to be ordained as a priest at the age of 54.
From that moment on, and after returning to Madrid, Pelegrín Muñoz devoted himself to his priestly duties, always ready to welcome those who needed his services, through various apostolic initiatives promoted by Opus Dei.
Priestly soul
For many years, he was chaplain of IESE in Madrid, where many professionals who were being trained to work in the business world in Spain and other countries had the opportunity to benefit from his priestly soul and, at the same time, from his valuable life experience, nourished by difficult family situations and professional endeavors, such as Tajamar.
Pelegrín Muñoz also dedicated much of his time to hearing confessions in the parishes of Araucana and Concepción de Goya, and to other pastoral work, even at times when his deteriorating health forced him to make some limitations. But those of us who knew him at different times of his life can attest that he was always fully available to go wherever he was needed and that his simplicity, humility and good humor accompanied him until he gave his soul to God.
