Ramón Tejero, the priest son of Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero, spends one of the most fateful Februarys of his existence. This month’s torrential rains brought down the roof of the Virgen Madre de Nueva Andalucía church, where the Eucharist is distributed to “princes” and “princesses” in this particular Marbella district. Right there, in the middle of the parish works, He received news of his father’s worsening health in Valenciawho died the same day that the 23F documents were declassified.
The lieutenant general, who had exquisite lucidity according to his son, was aware that on Wednesday, the papers, until now protected by the official secrets law, would see the light of day. Ramón argued: «Personally, I have zero curiosity about what is going to be published about the declassification, because I already know the whole truth. And I have known that truth from my father’s mouth. He told all his children clearly that he was going in the name of the King and everything that was going to happen that day. My father was always in favor of realitythat all the documents were declassified, and I mean all, not just a few.
In this conversation that the priest grants exclusively to LA RAZÓN, I ask him about the devotion and admiration he professed towards his father. «He was a man with an iron and unbreakable faith. I admired his love, his sacrifice, Spain and his family. His great sense of honor and responsibility. His inner strength and his immense tenderness that made us discover clarity in difficult moments of fog.. He was and has been a good and faithful man,” he responds.
The priest had the opportunity to give last unction to his father before he died: «It has been a privilege to give and offer the sacraments of the Church to a loved one. It was a moment of grace, but much more so in the moment of weakness, when you see the joyful and hopeful moment of embracing divinity approaching. The encounter with God that strengthens us. “My father left in peace.”
From darkness to light
Ramón remembers how on the same day of 23F, before his father appeared in the Congress of Deputies, they went to mass together. Antonio Tejero felt very happy when his son told him that he wanted to be a priest: «The story of how my vocation was born is complex. I was in a time of crisis of faith, with internal struggles that prevented me from practicing faith. He felt a lot of pain and inner suffering for everything that was happening in Spain, especially for the ETA murders. My friends’ parents were murdered and resentment took over my heart. I felt hatred. There was an immense internal struggle in me. I was 18 years old and I only saw bad things around me, I wanted to fight. In the middle of this, 23F happens, and before that, my heart stirs. I feel the betrayal of my father as something of my own, in such a way that inside me there was only darkness… In the midst of this spiritual storm Pope John Paul II came to Spain, and at the Santiago Bernabéu I heard his words: ”Young people, overcome evil by dint of good”. Those words resonated in my soul and there was light. Peace penetrated my interior, and from that moment I understood that I had to be a priest and use my life to build the Kingdom.to collaborate in the construction of the civilization of love, to be a priest of Jesus Christ, and that is how it was and that is how it is.
In January 1989 he was ordained a priest, and he will never forget that day. His father was serving time in the Figueras military prison and was released from prison to attend his ordination: «These are dates that always prevail in our memory. After feeling that call and consulting with holy priests, I wrote to my father to show him the path God wanted from me and to ask for advice. I was debating between pursuing a law degree and staying at home with my mother or going to the seminary. The response was prompt and sure: ”Do God’s will at all times. Don’t delay it, embark on the adventure of your vocation”. That’s what I did and it was.
Defend your honorability
I ask Ramón Tejero what he would say to those who are now, on social networks, writing that his father was a traitor. With divine calm he responds: «Perhaps, due to the circumstances of life, this has happened, but I have always wanted and I want to defend my father’s honorability. Not from confrontation, but from the serenity of the defense of a man and a woman, my mother, who have always fought for the defense of the faith. and the greatness of God, for the defense of Spain and, of course, for his selfless dedication to his family.
And the Antonio Tejero clan is articulated as a family with a strong military tradition, marked religiosity and conservative ideological ties. Together with his wife, Carmen Díez Pereira, The colonel had six children: Ramón, Antonio, Juan, Carmen, María Dolores and Elvira. Several followed a military career, such as the youngest, Juan Tejero Díez, who is a sergeant with assignments in different provinces. The family has participated in periodic tributes to the former lieutenant colonel, some held in Malaga, his native province. They also maintain habitual residence in Vélez-Málaga, where they are known. Over the years they have organized these commemorative events in which patriotic toasts have been given and military and national anthems have been sung. On the other hand, the parish of Ramón Tejero is the Andalusian temple par excellence frequented by the Marbella jet to hear mass and celebrate their religious liturgies. People from Princess María Luisa of Prussia to Count Rudy and Sophie von Schönburg, goddaughter of Queen Sofia, come to the sanctuary. The Marbella aristocracy is delighted to be able to hear the priest’s responses from now on. Since they closed the church to restore the roof of the main altar, which shattered in the heavy rains of February, everyone has joined hands with their priest, helping with donations to the best of their ability.
His church collapses
«My parish in the city of Marbella, now in need of funds, is a gift from heaven, like all the destinations where He has taken me. It is a multicultural parish, there are parishioners of all languages, races and conditions. We are like the Universal Church. That is the greatness of the parish, feeling like a family and walking together in joy and adversity.. María Luisa and Rudi are parishioners and friends. I love you and together we walk the path of life and faith, as I do with all those who wish to taste, taste the honey of Our Lord, and also with those who, due to life circumstances, are experiencing their doubts as I experienced them in my day… We are family,” the priest says excitedly.
Father Ramón Tejero is deeply empathetic and his parishioners appreciate it. He was in charge of officiating the religious ceremony for the burial of Francisco Franco in the Madrid neighborhood of Mingorrubio. Also, we saw him in the Julen Case and, a few years before, he was under the spotlight of the media when he supported a transsexual who the bishopric of Cádiz had prevented from being the godfather of his niece’s baptism. The religious then reproduced the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta: «We are all Christ alive in this world and race or sex does not matter.». Amen, father.