Padre Antonino Malhomme

His Story

Antonino Malhomme Montemillar was born in Mont Lyon, France, on May 7, 1913. He arrived in Mexico in 1951, and in 1959, seeing the great poverty of the people of the Martín Carrera neighborhood, located in the Gustavo A. Madero municipality, he decided to create a space to help his fellow men. He employed a recently graduated doctor, opened a small office in the parish, and began activities involving local residents and his French friends. In 1967, he created the "El Refugio" Social Action Center (AC). In 1992, he became a private assistance institution, maintaining its founding objectives: the dissemination of educational and cultural activities that foster community development. Father Malhomme completed his studies in his home country and in Belgium. He participated in World War II and was a military prisoner of war for five years (1940–1945) in Nazi Germany. He passed away on December 6, 1993, at the age of 80. In November 2015, a new phase began for the Center, with the consolidation of a strategic alliance with the Bringas-Haghenbeck Foundation, IAP, through which the founding will of Father Antonino Malhomme is continued.