Rafael Guízar Valencia
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Saint Rafael Guízar y Valencia |
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|---|---|
Portrait.
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| Bishop | |
| Born | 26 April 1878 Cotija, Michoacán, Mexico |
| Died | 6 June 1938 (aged 60) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 29 January 1995, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 15 October 2006, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Major shrine |
Xalapa Cathedral, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico |
| Feast | 24 October |
| Attributes | Bishop's attire |
| Patronage | Diocese of Xalapa |
Rafael Guízar y Valencia (April 26, 1878 – June 6, 1938) was a Mexican Catholic bishop who cared for the wounded, sick, and dying during the Mexican Revolution. Named Bishop of Xalapa, he was driven out of his diocese and forced to live the remainder of his life in hiding in Mexico City. He was also a Knight of Columbus. He was an uncle of Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ (who was later removed from leadership of that group by the Holy See).
Guizar's body was exhumed in 1950, twelve years after his death, and witnesses have said it had not decayed, except for the left eye, which he was said to have offered up for a sinner during his lifetime.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized Guízar on October 15, 2006.
“We welcome the canonization of our brother Knight, Bishop Guízar y Valencia, and know that his life of courage and legacy of evangelization will be an inspiration to each of our 1.7 million members around the world,” said Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, who attended Guízar’s canonization in Rome.
Rafael Guízar y Valencia was born in Cotija de la Paz, Michoacán, on April 26, 1878 (his brother, Antonio Guízar y Valencia, served as the Bishop of Chihuahua for 49 years). He was ordained a priest in 1901. With the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, persecution of the Catholic Church became severe, and Guízar became a special target because of his outspoken defense of the Church.
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