José María Arizmendiarrieta

Who was José María Arizmendiarrieta?

Father José María Arizmendiarrieta Madariaga was a Catholic priest and founder of the Mondragón cooperative movement in the Basque Country.

Arizmendiarrieta, whose name is often shortened to "Arizmendi", was born in Barinaga, Markina-Xemein, Biscay, the eldest son of a family of modest means. He had lost an eye in a childhood accident so could not be a soldier. Instead he was a journalist for Basque language newspapers. His actions caused him to be arrested after the Spanish Civil War and he was sentenced to death for his activities; legend has it that he escaped the firing squad only through an administrative oversight. Released, he returned to his studies in Vitoria and went on to take holy orders.

Arizmendi wanted to continue his studies in Belgium but was assigned to a parish 30 miles from his own home town. He arrived in Arrasate in February 1941, as a 26-year-old newly ordained priest to be assistant curate, to find a town still suffering from the aftermath of the Civil War and severe unemployment. The local priest had been shot by Franco's forces.

Arizmendi did not impress his new flock.