Saint Christopher Magallanes – 21 May – Saint Of The Day
Saint Christopher Magallanes. A Mexican priest and a martyr. Founder of schools, a newspapers and an energy plant. Patron saint of cancer patients. .
Christopher Magallanes/Cristóbal Magallanes Jara (1869–1927), a Mexican priest and a martyr, was born in Totaltiche, Mexico, to a family of farmers. Christobal worked as a shepherd in his youth. He entered the seminary at 19 and later became a parish priest in the parish of his hometown.
Along with preaching the Gospel, he organized the construction of schools, catechetical centres, carpentry shops, helped in founding of a newspaper and an energy plant.
When the anti-Church government of Mexico closed down the seminaries, Christobal gathered displaced seminarians and started his own seminary, which was quickly suppressed. He formed another, and another, and when they were all closed, the seminarians conducted classes in private homes.
Christobal wrote and preached against armed rebellion, but was falsely accused of promoting the Cristero guerilla revolt. One day he was arrested when he was going to a Mass. He was executed without a trial four days later. He was 57 years old. Before he was shot, his last words to one of his companions were:
“Be at peace, my son… just a minute and then we’re in heaven”
Iconography – cassock, priest’s attire, Bible, rosary and a palm branch
