Fernando García, new Secretary General of CONFER as of September

The General Council of the Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER) has appointed this Thursday, March 12, Salesian Fernando García Sánchez as the new secretary general of the institution for the period 2026-2030. García will take office on September 1, 2026, replacing Jesús Miguel Zamora, a religious of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, La Salle, who has held this responsibility since September 2017.

Current trajectory within the Salesians

Fernando García (Madrid, 1974) is currently the Major Superior of the Salesian Province of Santiago el Mayor, a position he will hold until May 2. Within the Salesian congregation he has also been a member of the Provincial Council and Provincial Coordinator of Salesian Santiago el Mayor Schools.

García made his first religious profession in Arévalo on August 16, 1993 and was ordained priest in Madrid - Paseo de Extremadura on June 19, 2004.

The new Secretary General obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy and Letters from the Pontifical University of Salamanca and a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome, where he also studied Youth Ministry.

Pastoral experience and institutional responsibilities

Throughout his pastoral career he has held various responsibilities in the educational and youth field. He has been pastoral coordinator, director of the Youth Center and sports coordinator at the Salesian House in Soto del Real, as well as director of Salesianos Aranjuez and Salesianos Atocha.

In CONFER itself, he is a member of the General Council and has participated in the group in charge of elaborating the Lines of Work of the Institutions of the Catholic Church in Spain in matters of sexual abuse and the Plan of Integral Reparation for Victims of Abuse (PRIVA), approved in 2024 by CONFER and the Spanish Episcopal Conference. He is also a member of a working group of major superiors created in 2025 to reflect on educational works and the governance of religious institutions.

He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Escuelas Católicas - Madrid and of the Board of Trustees of the Fundación Educación y Evangelio.

Acknowledgment to Jesús Miguel Zamora

For his part, Jesús Miguel Zamora will continue as secretary general until Fernando García takes office, scheduled for August 31. CONFER has thanked both the Salesians and the new secretary general for their willingness to assume this service and for the work carried out by Zamora during his nine years of dedication to the institution.

The president of CONFER, Jesús Díaz Sariego, OP, also expressed his gratitude to the Salesian Province of St. James the Greater and to the Christian Brothers, La Salle, “for their commitment to religious life in Spain, through the collaboration and service of Fernando and Jesús Miguel in CONFER respectively».