Bishop Rafael Guizar Valencia
Encyclopedia
Saint Rafael Guízar Valenciahttp://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bguizarv.html (April 26, 1878 – June 6, 1938) was a Catholic
bishop
who cared for the wounded, sick, and dying in Mexico
's 1910-20 Revolution
. Named bishop of Veracruz
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/djala.html, he was driven out of his home diocese
and forced to live the remainder of his life
in hiding in Mexico City
. He was also a Knight of Columbus. Controversially, he was an uncle of Marcial Maciel
.
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
recognised Bishop Guízar as a saint
on October 15, 2006.
Six other Knights, all of whom were martyred in Mexico during the persecutions of the 1920s and 1930s, were declared saints of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II
in 2000.
“We welcome the canonization of our brother Knight, Bishop Guízar 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 Bishop Guízar’s canonization in Rome.
Rafael Guízar Valencia was born in Cotija de la Paz, Michoacán
, on April 26, 1878 (his brother, Antonio Guízar y Valencia
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bguizary.html (1879–1971), served as the ordinary
of the Archdiocese 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.
He went underground—disguised as a junk dealer—to continue his work as a priest. In 1915, when the government ordered that he be shot on sight, he escaped to the United States
, and then went on to serve the Church in Guatemala
and Cuba
.
While in Cuba, Guizar was consecrated as bishop of Veracruz
. The end of the Revolution enabled him to return to Mexico in January 1920, and he joined Knights of Columbus Council 2311 in Xalapa, Veracruz, on August 16, 1923.
As bishop, he founded a clandestine seminary to train future priests, noting that “A bishop can do without a mitre, a crosier, and even a cathedral, but never without a seminary, because the future of his diocese depends on the seminary.”
Bishop Guízar was forced to flee Mexico once again in 1927 during the persecution of the Church under President
Plutarco Elías Calles
. He returned in 1929, the year the Church reached an accord with the government after the end of the Cristero War
, in part because of successful lobbying by the Knights of Columbus to get the U.S. government to take an active role in solving the crisis.
After his return to Mexico, Guízar continued his ministry, and became known as “the bishop of the poor.” He died on June 6, 1938. According to investigative journalist Jason Berry and former Hartford Courant religion writer Gerald Renner:
The incident would take on new significance decades after Guízar's death, when Pope Benedict XVI
ordered Fr Maciel to retire to a life of prayer and penance after a papal commission completed its investigation into his sexual misconduct with Legion seminarians who were minors at the time http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577304/The-Reverend-Marcial-Maciel.html (Maciel was also discovered, in 2009, to have fathered at least one illegitimate child while under the vow of chastity)http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100006335/legionaries-founder-maciel-may-have-had-six-children-say-reports/.
Bishop Guízar was beatified by Pope John Paul II on January 29, 1995 and Canonised
on October 15, 2006 by Pope Benedict.
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
who cared for the wounded, sick, and dying in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
's 1910-20 Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
. Named bishop of Veracruz
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jalapa
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jalapa is a Metropolitan Archdiocese in Mexico, based in the city of Xalapa, Veracruz. It is responsible for the suffragan dioceses of Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Orizaba, Papantla, San Andrés Tuxtla, Tuxpan and Veracruz....
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/djala.html, he was driven out of his home diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
and forced to live the remainder of his life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
in hiding in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. He was also a Knight of Columbus. Controversially, he was an uncle of Marcial Maciel
Marcial Maciel
Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado was a Mexican-born Roman Catholic priest who founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement. He was accused of pedophilia early in his life and having fathered at least one child...
.
Guizar's body
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
was exhumed in 1950, twelve years after his death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, 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
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
recognised Bishop Guízar as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
on October 15, 2006.
Six other Knights, all of whom were martyred in Mexico during the persecutions of the 1920s and 1930s, were declared saints of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in 2000.
“We welcome the canonization of our brother Knight, Bishop Guízar 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 Bishop Guízar’s canonization in Rome.
Rafael Guízar Valencia was born in Cotija de la Paz, Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, on April 26, 1878 (his brother, Antonio Guízar y Valencia
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chihuahua
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chihuahua is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico.-Early history:Erected in 1891 from the Diocese of Durango, the diocese consisted of the State of Chihuahua in its entirety...
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bguizary.html (1879–1971), served as the ordinary
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
of the Archdiocese of Chihuahua for 49 years). He was ordained a priest in 1901. With the start of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
in 1910, persecution of the Catholic Church became severe, and Guízar became a special target because of his outspoken defense of the Church.
He went underground—disguised as a junk dealer—to continue his work as a priest. In 1915, when the government ordered that he be shot on sight, he escaped to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and then went on to serve the Church in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
While in Cuba, Guizar was consecrated as bishop of Veracruz
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jalapa
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jalapa is a Metropolitan Archdiocese in Mexico, based in the city of Xalapa, Veracruz. It is responsible for the suffragan dioceses of Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Orizaba, Papantla, San Andrés Tuxtla, Tuxpan and Veracruz....
. The end of the Revolution enabled him to return to Mexico in January 1920, and he joined Knights of Columbus Council 2311 in Xalapa, Veracruz, on August 16, 1923.
As bishop, he founded a clandestine seminary to train future priests, noting that “A bishop can do without a mitre, a crosier, and even a cathedral, but never without a seminary, because the future of his diocese depends on the seminary.”
Bishop Guízar was forced to flee Mexico once again in 1927 during the persecution of the Church under President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Plutarco Elías Calles
Plutarco Elías Calles
Plutarco Elías Calles was a Mexican general and politician. He was president of Mexico from 1924 to 1928, but he continued to be the de facto ruler from 1928–1935, a period known as the maximato...
. He returned in 1929, the year the Church reached an accord with the government after the end of the Cristero War
Cristero War
The Cristero War of 1926 to 1929 was an uprising and counter-revolution against the Mexican government in power at that time. The rebellion was set off by the strict enforcement of the anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and the expansion of further anti-clerical laws...
, in part because of successful lobbying by the Knights of Columbus to get the U.S. government to take an active role in solving the crisis.
After his return to Mexico, Guízar continued his ministry, and became known as “the bishop of the poor.” He died on June 6, 1938. According to investigative journalist Jason Berry and former Hartford Courant religion writer Gerald Renner:
The day before Bishop Guizar died, he had been heard shouting angrily at his eighteen-year-old nephew, Marcial MacielMarcial MacielFr. Marcial Maciel Degollado was a Mexican-born Roman Catholic priest who founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement. He was accused of pedophilia early in his life and having fathered at least one child...
. He was giving Maciel a dressing-down after two women had come to the bishop's house to complain about Maciel, who was their neighbor. Father Orozco, who was among the original group of boys to found the Legion of ChristLegion of ChristThe Legion of Christ is a Roman Catholic congregation of pontifical right, made up of priests and seminarians studying for the priesthood. It was founded in Mexico in 1941, by Fr. Marcial Maciel, who directed the congregation as its General Superior until January 2005...
in 1941, said he heard the women had complained about the "noise" Maciel was making with children he had brought into his home to teach religion. He said that the seminary officials blamed Maciel for his uncle's heart attack and subsequent death. (Berry & Renner, Vows of Silence, Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, New York: 2004, p. 155)
The incident would take on new significance decades after Guízar's death, when Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
ordered Fr Maciel to retire to a life of prayer and penance after a papal commission completed its investigation into his sexual misconduct with Legion seminarians who were minors at the time http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577304/The-Reverend-Marcial-Maciel.html (Maciel was also discovered, in 2009, to have fathered at least one illegitimate child while under the vow of chastity)http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100006335/legionaries-founder-maciel-may-have-had-six-children-say-reports/.
Bishop Guízar was beatified by Pope John Paul II on January 29, 1995 and Canonised
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
on October 15, 2006 by Pope Benedict.
See also
- Persecution of Christians in MexicoPersecution of Christians in MexicoThe modern history of Mexico has often been characterized by deep conflicts between the government and the Catholic Church, sometimes including outright persecution of Catholics in Mexico.- Beginning of Anticlericalism and Persecution :...
- Cristero WarCristero WarThe Cristero War of 1926 to 1929 was an uprising and counter-revolution against the Mexican government in power at that time. The rebellion was set off by the strict enforcement of the anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and the expansion of further anti-clerical laws...
- Saints of the Cristero WarSaints of the Cristero WarOn May 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized a group of 25 saints and martyrs arising from the Mexican Cristero War. The vast majority are Roman Catholic priests who were executed for carrying out their ministry despite the suppression under the anti-clerical laws of Plutarco Elías Calles. Priests...