Peter of Alcantara
| Peter of Alcantara | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Friar, Mystic | |
| Born | 1499 Alcántara, Spain |
| Died |
18 October, 1562 (aged 62-63) Arenas de San Pedro, Spain |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | April 18, 1622 by Pope Gregory XV |
| Canonized | April 28, 1669 by Pope Clement IX |
| Feast | October 18 |
| Attributes | Franciscan habit |
| Patronage | Brazil, Eucharistic adoration, Estremadura |
Saint Peter of Alcantara, O.F.M. (Spanish: San Pedro de Alcántara) (1499 – October 18, 1562), was a Spanish Franciscan friar canonized in 1699.
He was born at Alcántara, Province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. His father, Peter Garavita, was the governor of Alcántara, and his mother was of the noble family of Sanabia. He decided to join the Franciscans at the age of 16 shortly after he was sent to university in Salamanca by his stepfather.
Returning home, he became a Franciscan friar of the Stricter Observance in the friary at Manxaretes, Extremadura, in 1515. At the age of twenty-two he was sent to found a new community of the Stricter Observance at Badajoz. He was ordained a priest in 1524, and the following year was appointed Guardian of the friary of St. Mary of the Angels at Robredillo, Old Castile. A few years later he began preaching with much success. He preferred to preach to the poor; his sermons, taken largely from the Prophets and Sapiential Books, breathe the tenderest human sympathy. At the time Peter entered the Order, the reform of the "Discalced Friars" consisted of the Custody of the friaries in Spain and Santa Maria Pietatis in Portugal, all subject to the Minister General of the Observants.
In 1538 Peter was made minister provincial of the Franciscan province of St Gabriel of Estremadura but resigned when his plans to enforce severe rules among the friars were opposed, and he retired with John of Avila into the mountains of Arrábida in Portugal, where he joined Friar Martim de Santa Maria in a life of eremitical solitude. Soon, though, other friars came to join him, and several little communities were established. Peter was chosen guardian and Master of novices at the friary of Palhais, Barreiro. In 1560 these communities were erected into the Province of Arrábida.
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