The fate of Javier seemed to be marked by his place of origin. The weight of the Sartorius Milans del Bosch surnames and his ties to Madrid’s high society, together with his parents’ dedication to his education and his link with sport, seemed to steer Javier’s life toward professional and personal success. At least, in the most superficial terms of the word. However, as the saying goes, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Because what was not foreseen in Isabel Sartorius’s cousin’s life plan was the brutal conversion that would mark his days until the end.
Pero, ¿quién era Javier y cómo llegó hasta ahí? Javier Sartorius Milans del Bosch nació en Madrid en 1964, en el seno de una familia católica con tradición de misa dominical, pero sin ser especialmente fervientes. A pesar de estudiar en un colegio de Jesuitas, la adolescencia y primera juventud de Javier no estuvo especialmente marcada por la fe, sino que su estilo de vida se correspondía más con el de cualquier chico de su edad en su época que disfrutaba de salir de fiesta y pasar tiempo con sus amigos. Su gran pasión fue el tenis, deporte en el que era especialmente bueno, y que pasó de ser un hobbie a convertirse en una potencial promesa para su futuro.
The turning point arrived in 1979, when he received a tennis scholarship to study Business Administration at the University of Dallas. Javier set course for the United States with his brother Fernando – who would later become the trainer of celebrities such as Elsa Pataky or Tom Cruise – and his experience was so positive that they decided to stay on the other side of the pond for another season. To make a living, the brothers became vacuum cleaner salesmen. From Dallas they moved to Los Angeles to continue their adventure, but amid much tennis and unforgettable memories, something began to stir inside Javier that went far beyond what he had been told was success.
It all began with a brochure showing the image of underprivileged children from Cusco, Peru. After a season of spiritual doubts that led him to try meditation, yoga, or Buddhism, and which prompted him to participate in a series of volunteer activities, Javier decided to go to Peru as a missionary in order to help those most in need. The decision surprised those around him, and it came at a moment of one of the happiest times of his life, when he was at the peak of his professional career.
Javier Sartorius on his mission to Peru
Immersed in the mission in Peru, the real transformation in Javier’s life arrived: a deep conversion to Catholicism that would mark his path from then on. At 26, what had been a promise of Spanish tennis experienced a call to leave everything to serve God among the poorest, and he became deeply enamored with the teachings of Jesus Christ. So much so that, according to those who shared that time with him, after reading the Bible and several biographies of saints, Javier spent two days confessing and attended the next Eucharist dressed in white, like a soul that had just been reborn.
From having it all to renunciation for love and faith
Since his conversion, it seemed that the weight of his surnames or all the achievements up to that date did not matter to Javier. Not only did he have a clear mission in Peru, he also felt a deep call to the contemplative life upon returning to Spain. On the recommendation of his friend Jordi Bosch, whom he had met in Peru, Javier went to the Monastery of Lord in Lleida, a remote enclave where he wished to live this vocation. There he devoted himself body and soul to prayer – some of his closest associates described him as “an athlete of the spirit” – but he also worked as a shepherd and helped restore the monastery itself.
When he arrived at the monastery, the bishop proposed that he study to be ordained a priest, although he considered himself “unworthy” of it. He spent periods at the Ajofrín Seminary, in Toledo, and in Barcelona, training for it. However, his plans were truncated again, this time by a more tragic reason: ulcerative colitis that surfaced as a cross in his life months before ordination.
Javier Sartorius
After months of bearing the pain and suffering with great faith, Javier Sartorius’s condition worsened and he was transferred to the Cistercian monastery of San Miguel de Dueñas, in León. There he died at 44 years old, on June 21, 2006, after suffering a heart attack, the consequence of the weakness he had been carrying for so long. Everyone who could share with Javier his last days agrees on the testimony that the monk was presenting with his way of facing the illness, and this was, among many other reasons, one of the motives that moved forward his beatification process.
In 2025 the documentary Solo Javier was released, which tells the unique life of the aristocrat who chose to become a monk and a missionary. Directed by Josepmaria Anglès, the production spans from his early years to his time in the United States, the impact of the homeless in Los Angeles, his conversion in Peru, and his eremitic life, up to the end of his days. It blends scenes that fictionalize his life with testimonies from those who knew him and shows that Javier’s life is, at the very least, a miracle.
