Katie Gatens, Europe Correspondent, Los Molinos
The Sunday Times
May 16 2026
A black crucifix on the roof marks the house. Behind the walls, on a suburban street in the village of Los Molinos, shielded by thick hedges and iron gates, dozens of young women live under strict control.
The women dress like nuns, but they are not. They belong to the Daughters of Merciful Love, or Hijas de Amor Misericordioso (HAM), a Catholic religious association — not an official order of the church — that has branches across Spain, in Madrid, Seville, and Toledo, and a male equivalent.
Residents of Los Molinos, near Madrid, say they see the women around the village walking to church twice a day. “They keep to themselves,” said one neighbour. “They have fixed smiles on their faces at all times. It looks like they’re in a trance.”
In July last year, the Daughters of Merciful Love was put under investigation by the Archdiocese of Madrid after “numerous complaints”. The Archdiocese found their activities had many of the attributes of a cult and limited them as a result, including banning them from admitting new members. HAM’s leader, María Milagrosa, known as “Marimi” to members, was removed by the cardinal of Madrid. Marimi was contacted for comment.
In recent weeks, about forty alleged victims or relatives of women and men, some of whom are still part of HAM, have spoken out, sharing details of alleged abuse in interviews with the Spanish media. They allege that within HAM there were “exorcisms” and food and sleep were restricted.
The Sunday Times met four alleged victims of the group who claim that they suffered abuse including sexual, spiritual, physical, psychological and coercive control. Many live in fear of repercussions from the community and all of their names have been changed to protect their identities.
Victims and their families — many of whom have daughters still inside HAM — say the church’s recent measures do not go far enough. They claim the abuse is continuing and put the responsibility squarely on the church, which they claim has allowed abuse to go unchecked for decades.
The Archdiocese of Madrid was approached for comment.
The Brothers of Merciful Love, the group’s male chapter, is also under scrutiny by the church to determine whether or not it will be dissolved. Its 30 members wear a monk’s habit and are allegedly given the tools of self-flagellation. The Sunday Times met one former member of the Brothers who alleges he was coerced into a sexual relationship with a senior member.
‘Cult-like, without any doubt’
The Daughters of Merciful Love was formed in 1983 by Father Antonio Mansilla, a Jesuit, in Seville. Within the canonical law of the Catholic Church, it is a public association of the faithful approved by the church, but not a religious congregation. In June 2024, it was affirmed as a public association by the Archbishop of Madrid, a step on the way to becoming an official order of the church.
“This is very common in the Catholic Church, that before congregations are created, they function for a few years in an experimental way, as an association of faithful, until the authority of the church approves it,” said Luis Santamaria, founder of the Ibero-American Network for the Study of Sects (RIES), who has studied HAM.
Santamaria believes that HAM has exploited the difficult backgrounds of some of its members — “family problems, breakups, the recent loss of a loved one,” he said. “The key to entering the HAM was not so much proper vocational discernment and spiritual accompaniment, but rather a rapid process with a certain degree of manipulation, doctrinally based on a double fear: eschatological fear, that end times are near and we are the group chosen by God, and fear of the Devil supposedly lurking around every corner, and would also act through their relatives, friends, and even the ordinary structures and people of the Catholic Church itself.”
Miguel Perlado, a clinical psychologist who has worked with some of the victims and their families, said: “There are some elements which without any doubt show us that there is a cult-like operation of this group, in the type of a sect.”
Members of the Hijas del Amor Misericordioso religious group standing outside a building with “LOVE HAM” written on it.
He identifies six elements of HAM that could be considered sect-like: the figure of a charismatic leader and the cult of personality; the isolation and control of relationships and environment; the invasion and manipulation of inner consciousness; deprivation — or continuous and systematic exhaustion; spiritual, physical and sexual abuse under mystical pretexts; and recruitment through a bombardment of love.
When all of her friends at school told her they were going to a weekend summer camp run by the Daughters of Merciful Love, “Maria” begged her parents to let her go too.
“I loved it, the brothers and sisters are young, they’re smiling, so nice, they hug you, tell you they love you,” she said.
The long days were taken up with praying and confession. Co-ordinators encouraged the teenagers to share their deepest and darkest secrets, suffering, and intimacies, in front of strangers, calling it “confession”.
“It’s almost like a competition to share the worst,” said Maria.
Newcomers had phones and watches taken from them. Maria says she later realised they had been made to pray until about 3am before waking at 8am “to try to make you bare your soul”. This, she said, heightened her emotional state: “You’re super tired and more vulnerable, emotional.” But she “loved” the retreat.
Quickly, all of Maria’s free time was spent within the community. “Every weekend, all the time, there are activities. That’s how they hook you in.” She says she became separated from friends and family. “They brainwash you.”
Members’ names are changed to a biblical name, chosen by Marimi, who has been supposedly told by God.
Relatives of members also began to observe that their loved ones “spoke of the family in very critical terms, even with suspicion and distrust,” Perlado said. “At the same time, they began to refer to Marimi as ‘mami’ or ‘mother’.”
A veil of secrecy is lowered over your life, said Maria. “The motto is, ‘What happens here, stays here,’ you can’t share it with outsiders.”
‘Her will was God’s will’
With trembling hands, “Carmen” said her daughter, “Lucia”, was recruited in a similar way. One week, Lucia convinced her family to join her at Mass with HAM. “It looked like a sect,” said her mother. “It looked weird — very exaggerated singing and praying. It looked like they were drugged.”
Young men and women report quickly being made to feel special and told by senior members that they have a “calling” and have been “chosen” to join.
Some leave their studies and family homes and cut contact with friend to live within the group. Family visits are allowed once a month.
“Monica” left HAM about two years ago. “We had to ask permission to go outside,” she said. “When I told them I wanted to leave, they put me in isolation. If you try to leave, they say you are being deceived by the Devil.”
She added: “They tell you that you have to obey and to completely surrender yourself to Marimi´s will, who acted as if her will was God’s will.”
“Carlos”, a former member of the Brotherhood, said: “You had to cut off your roots from the earth to be in heaven.”
The structure of both male and female associations is hierarchical. Marimi is the “superior” and another superior brother and sister is in each house. They say Marimi’s position as the leader was unchallenged and rejecting it was akin to rejecting God. “Marimi knows everything and decides everything,” said Monica. “And Marimi is never wrong.”
Luis Santamaria said that within HAM there was “a pathological glorification” of the leader, as well as the founder, Father Antonio. “Both are considered holy people and, in Marimi’s case, she is regarded as the only direct channel of communication with God,” he added. All followers had a cross containing a lock of her hair.
Carlos said that “at Christmas, they gave us pieces of Marimi’s shirt. We had photos, prints of her, as if she was a saint.”
Perlado says that this behaviour is characteristic of a cult. “The devotees, the followers, carry small relics of Marini, for example, pieces of her clothes, or celebrate the birthday of the founder … they address her as a mummy, which not only denaturalises the bond with the biological mother, but also instils an absolute dependence on the founder.”
Former members say inside the house there was one mobile phone for everyone to use, kept by the mother or brother superior — and all conversations were checked. Emails were first sent to a superior sister, who decided if they should then be delivered. All women had to wear a simple black habit and shirt.
Everything was monitored. “You couldn’t read a book without permission,” said Carlos. “Even from the library we had at home. That would be a sin — and if you sin you have to ask for penance which is humiliation in front of the community.”
Tools were given to members which they could use to physically abuse themselves, Carlos alleged. “They give you a spiked cilice and a whip,” he said. A cilice is something, like a hair shirt, worn to irritate the skin. They were expected to wear this for an hour or more per day.
‘We were the chosen ones’
Brothers and sisters of HAM do not have jobs. Money is provided by donations from the wider community of lay members.
HAM relied on food banks and meals were allegedly restricted. “I lost 15kg in six months,” said Carlos.
Women could not open the fridge or eat when they wanted to. “When it came to the food Marimi was eating, she had different meals,” Monica said.
Former members describe feeling a “psychological dependency” on HAM. “I was young, I felt like I couldn’t make decisions, and suddenly there was a person telling me what I had to do,” Carlos said.
The houses kept candles blessed by Father Antonio in anticipation of the end of the world. “We were the chosen ones, so that when the great punishment came, the end of the world, we would support the souls that would remain alive, because many would die,” said Monica.
Several victims report being given medication — including antidepressants — by those in charge.
Carlos also claims he was coerced into a sexual relationship with a senior figure. “Every night I went to bed and I asked God, ‘Tomorrow don’t open my eyes’.”
He expressed a wish to leave but had no contact with the outside world. As a result, he claims: “They started to medicate me. They gave me antidepressants without a medical prescription.”
The women, too, say they were administered medication by those in charge. “If you start to rebel, or question things, they tell you it’s the Devil,” said Monica. “They isolate you and could even give you psychiatric medication.” She added: “Marimi also decided which sister could go to the doctor and it was always under supervision.”
This is something Santamaria has seen in women he has counselled. “A significant number of the girls are taking psychiatric medication, and both among those still inside and those who have managed to leave, there are serious cases of psychosomatic manifestations resulting from the trauma they have experienced,” he said.
Last year, when the church ordered the intervention and Marimi was removed, so too were 20 young women who had recently joined HAM.
Marimi is now thought to live between Mexico and Seville but allegedly continues HAM activities, coaching young people in person in Toledo.
Santamaria said: “It would be astonishingly naive to think that the physical separation of the leader would be enough to prevent her influence over her followers from continuing.”
“Where is the church in all of this?” said Monica. “People are still trapped inside, suffering. The church has a responsibility to care for them.”
Lucia is now living back at home, but Carmen said her daughter was still plagued by intrusive thoughts. “It’s been seven months since she left, and she still believes the Devil is punishing her.”
https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/cult-daughters-merciful-love-spain-zp6nr52xz
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