Saints New and Old

The beatification of Ven. Juan de Palafox y Mendoza.

The Postulator General of the Order, Fr. Ildefonso Moriones, informs us that the Ordinary Congregation of Cardinals and Bishops dealing with the Cause of Juan de Palaox y Mendoza has approved the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Bishop. This approval clears the way for his Beatification. Fr. Ildefonso, Postulator for the Cause, has been told that Pope Benedict will sign the Decree for Beatification before Easter. A date and venue for the Beatification of Bishop Juan, who had close historical links with our Order, will then be promulgated.

Pope Benedict declared Juan de Palafox Venerable on 17 January 2009 when his heroic Christian virtues were recognised by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The Miracle

The miracle approved by the Vatican was the cure of Fr. Lucas Fernandez de Pinedo, a 66 year old priest from the ex-diocese of Osma (Spain) where Bishop Juan was buried.

Fr. Lucas suffered from probable tuberculosis (incurable at that time). and his doctors had given up all hope of recovery. Fr. Moriones writes that ¡§the priest had made his will, received the last Sacraments and bade farewell to his parishioners, when his nephew (also a priest) brought him a relic of Palafox¡. The invalid received the relic, entrusted himself to the intercession of Palafox and went quietly to sleep, which had been an impossibility for many weeks. His illness disappeared instantly and, in the space of four hours, he was restored to perfect health.

Juan de Palafox y Mendoza

He was born on 24 June 1600 in the village of Fitero (Navarre, Spain). His intelligence and good sense of government had been noticed at an early age by the Marquis of Ariza. The Count-Duke of Olivares recommended him to Madrid where he was employed in the fiscal offices of the War Council and Council for the Indies.

His sister Lucrezia's illness and the death of two colleagues in 1628 marked a radical change in Palafox's life. He began to frequent the Sacraments and to pray seriously. All this led to his eventual ordination to the priesthood in 1629.

He was consecrated Bishop in 1639 and was transferred from Madrid to Mexico as Titular Bishop of Puebla and Viceroy of New Spain. Neither work nor difficulties were lacking in his new offices but he quickly gained the esteem and affection of his clergy and faithful. He became an outstanding defender of the rights of the native Indians. One of his major pastoral achievements was to consolidate the different missions in his jurisdiction into a well organised diocese.

He returned to Spain later as Bishop of Osma. He lived a life of notable austerity, paying particular attention to the poor and sick throughout his diocese. He died peacefully on 1 October 1659, bequeathing to his loved ones only the bare necessities of life that he owned. The Diocesan Chapter, following the directives in his will, organised a pauper's funeral for him as witness to the poverty in which he died.

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