Bl. Miguel Agustín Pro

Biography

Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro (1891–1927) was born on January 13, 1891, in Guadalupe, Zacatecas, Mexico, the son of a mining engineer. Lively and full of humor, he was known in his family as a prankster. In 1911 he entered the Society of Jesus. The Mexican Revolution soon forced the Jesuit novices to flee, and he continued his studies in California, Spain, Nicaragua, and Belgium, where he was ordained a priest in 1925 despite painful stomach ailments. He returned to Mexico in 1926, just as the government of President Plutarco Elías Calles was enforcing harsh anti-Catholic laws; public worship was suspended and priests were forced into hiding. Fr. Pro ministered in secret in Mexico City, using disguises such as a mechanic or a well-dressed gentleman, to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, bring Communion to the faithful, and help the poor. In November 1927, after a failed bomb attack on former president Álvaro Obregón, Fr. Pro and his brothers were arrested, although he had no part in the plot. Without a trial he was sentenced to death. On November 23, 1927, he forgave his executioners, knelt in prayer, and faced the firing squad with his arms outstretched in the form of a cross, crying, 'Viva Cristo Rey!' ('Long live Christ the King!'). Pope St. John Paul II beatified him in 1988. St. Clement I and St. Columban are also honored on this day.

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