“Viva Cristo Rey” were the last words Fr. Miguel Augustin Pro
uttered before he was executed for being a Catholic priest and serving his
flock. Viva Cristo Rey, Long live Christ the King.
In 1909, twenty-year-old Miguel Augustin Pro joined the
Jesuits as a novice in Mexico. A year later, a revolution erupted and by 1914
the Jesuits were forced to flee. After being ordained in 1925, Padre Miguel was
sent back to Mexico. Since he was not
known as a priest, Padre Miguel went about clandestinely, sometimes in
disguise, celebrating Mass, hearing confession, anointing the sick, and doing
everything he could to relieve the material suffering of the poor.
In a letter, he wrote: Jesus help me! There isn’t time to
breathe, and I am up to my eyebrows in this business of feeding those who have
nothing. And they are many—those with nothing…
In 1927, hostility and persecution of Catholics in Mexico
reached a boiling point. Churches were closed and Fr. Miguel would celebrate
Mass in secret, to provide the Eucharist for Mexico’s faithful. He became known
throughout the city as the undercover priest who would show up in the middle of
the night, dressed as a beggar or a street sweeper, to baptize infants, hear
confessions, distribute Communion, or perform marriages. Several times,
disguised as a policeman, he slipped unnoticed into the police headquarters
itself to bring the sacraments to Catholic prisoners before their executions.
Finally, Fr. Miguel and his brother Roberto were arrested on
trumped-up charges of attempting to assassinate Mexico’s president. Roberto was
spared but Miguel was sentenced to face a firing squad on November 23, 1927. Refusing
a blindfold, he stood, faced the firing squad, and held his arms outstretched
in the form of a cross, a crucifix in one hand and a rosary in the other. In a
clear voice he cried out, 4 "Viva Cristo Rey!"
Here is a normal young man, known for humor and practical
jokes, who became one of the 20th century’s great examples of
Christian heroism.
Viva Cristo Rey, Long Live Christ the King.
Saint John Paul II traveled to Mexico for Pro's
beatification in Mexico on September 25, 1988, and said:
Neither suffering nor serious illness, neither the
exhausting ministerial activity, frequently carried out in difficult and
dangerous circumstances, could stifle the radiating and contagious joy which he
brought to his life for Christ and which nothing could take away. Indeed, the
deepest root of self-sacrificing surrender for the lowly was his passionate
love for Jesus Christ and his ardent desire to be conformed to him, even unto
death.
May the reign of Christ the King be great in each of us, in
our minds and hearts. Like Blessed Miguel Pro and countless martyrs before him,
may we be filled with courage and fervor in witnessing to Christ and serving
the Church for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
No comments:
Post a Comment