Ann Ball - Blessed Miguel Pro

Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez, S.J. (1891-1927) was martyred for the Faith in Mexico.

Copyright 1996 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be repro duced or transmitted in any form or by any means, elec tronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, with out permission in writing from the Publisher, except that brief selections may be quoted or copied for non-profit use without permission, provided that full credit is given.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 96-60532

ISBN: 978-0-89555-542-7

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
2011

DEDICATION

This book is lovingly dedicated to my son Raul, my grandchildren Austin, Max, Tori, Michael and Angelito, and to the youth of America. May the merry Mexican martyr, Miguel Pro, lead them with love and laughter to mi Padre Dios .

CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF OBEDIENCE

In loving obedience to the decrees of several Roman Pontiffs, in particular those of Pope Urban VIII, I declare that I in no way intend to prejudge Holy Mother Church in the matter of Saints, sanctity, miracles and so forth. Final authority in such matters rests with the See of Rome, to whose judgment I willingly submit.

Ann Ball

AUTHORS PREFACE

My interest in the life of Bl. Miguel Pro, S.J., began over 25 years ago when I had barely begun to gather information for a book on modern saints. In my initial research on his life and martyrdom, I was captivated by his happy nature and spirit of joy combined with a deep seriousness of thought, his consuming zeal for souls, his passion for justice, his dedication to obedience and his strong devotion, as well as his sublime heroism.

After Fr. Pros beatification I wrote a chaplet in his honor, which I had hoped would help his Cause in some way. My Bishop, the Most Rev. Joseph A. Fiorenza, issued an Imprimatur for the chaplet and expressed his hope that, by praying it, many would be brought closer to God through the intercession of Bl. Miguel Pro and that they would experience the deep faith and love for Christ the King which motivated and sustained Bl. Miguel in his priestly mission and martyrdom.

I firmly believe in the communion of Saints as defined by the Catholic Church, and for me Bl. Miguel is a friend, a counselor, a helper and a guide not just a subject of my writings. Also, like my beloved patron St. John Bosco, he seems to bring forth love and laughter and happy surprises!

who were enthusiastic supporters of Bl. Miguel. About that same time, I located and was able to speak with the current vice postulator of Fr. Pros Cause, Fr. Fernando Suarez Santoyo, S.J. From that point it seemed as if my merry Mexican martyr was pushing me to help him spread his joy across the United States, where so many Catholics today, especially our youth, are so badly in need of Christian heroes.

A new medal was struck, and the chaplets were produced. I wrote an article about Fr. Pro, which was published in Our Sunday Visitor , a national Catholic paper. In the article, I gave the address of ProVision for those who wanted more information. The paper immediately received a flood of letters from all across the United States from people who seemed hungry to know more about this happy martyr.

Although I could locate a number of articles and brief biographies in collected works in English, it seemed that the major biographies of Bl. Miguel were either in other languages or were out of print and difficult to find. In addition, the blessings and support of my Bishop and of Fr. Pros vice postulator, the comments and blessings from Fr.Molinari (Postulator General of the Jesuits) and from Bishop Tamayo (the auxiliary Bishop of my diocese) and from Bishop Ramirez of Las Cruces, as well as the requests, support and prayers of the Le Leuxs and of so many others, all convinced me that a new work on Fr. Pro was needed.

Before his death Bl. Miguel told some of his friends that he believed that the offering of his life would be accepted and that martyrdom would be his key to Heaven. He then remarked jokingly that if he were allowed this favor, his friends should get their petitions ready, because from Heaven he would deal out favors as if they were a deck of cards.

It is my sincere prayer that this brief retelling of the story of the Mexican Joker will help him in some small way to continue his game of uniting hearts to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of gaining souls for mi Padre Dios God my Fatherwhich was Bl. Miguels favorite name for Divine Providence.

Ann Ball

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ProVision is a group of people dedicated to the promotion of Fr. Pros Cause.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My thanks are gratefully extended to these and other correspondents and friendsfriends of mine and of Bl. Miguel:

Rev. Luis Diaz Borrundo, M.Sp.S.

Rev. John Boscoe, C.S.B.

Rev. Jack Broussard, C.S.B.

Rev. Enrique Cardenas, S.J. (R.I.P), former Vice Postulator

Rev. A. Dragon, S.J. (R.I.P.)

Most Rev. Joseph A. Fiorenza, Bishop of Galveston- Houston

Rev. Richard Flores

Rev. Bill Frankenberger, C.S.B.

Rev. Troy Gately

Rev. Peter Gumpel, S.J.

Margaret Hotze

Lawrence and Carol Le Leux, ProVision

Sister Margaret Mary, M.C.

Rev. Paolo Molinari, S.J., Postulator General of the Jesuits

Rev. Max Murphy, C.S.B.

Jeanne Noxon

Most Rev. Ricardo Ramirez, C.S.B., Bishop of Las Cruces

Rev. Fernando Suarez Santoyo, S.J., Vice Postulator

Rev. Raphael OLaughlin, C.S.B.

Very Rev. Enrique San Pedro, S.J. (R.I.P.), former Bishop of Brownsville

Most Rev. James T. Tamayo, Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston

Bea Whitfil

Bro. David Lopez, O.S.F.

Fausto Zelaya, Jr.

Without their help, encouragement and support, and especially their prayers, I could not have told this story. May God and our merry Mexican martyr bless them.

Ann Ball

INTRODUCTION

This is a book about one mans love of God, how with true Christian joy he worked for the good of souls and how he gave his life in defense of the Catholic Faith.

This is not a book on politics. Study as much as you like, the political situation of Mexico was, and is, complicated. In this brief work there is not space to include a definitive rendering of all the political motivations and actions in Mexico between 1890 and 1940. Other books detail the problems of the Catholic Church in Mexico. Most Americans can barely comprehend the situation; the fact that these things occurred so close to our own nation astounds many who think of Mexico only as a Catholic country, not as a persecuted one.

Fr. Pro was by no means the only Catholic to give his life for the Faith during the long, dark years of religious persecution in Mexico. Thousands of Catholicspriests, religious and laitywere harassed, tortured, killed or forced to flee their fatherland.

A cause for beatification has been begun for a number of these heroes for the Faith; the heroic exploits of many live on only in the hearts of their families and in the memories of the people of their native regions. Two examplesone from the beginning and one from the end of the active persecution against the Church in Mexicoare briefly mentioned here.

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For details on the history of the Catholic Church in Mexico, see Blood-Drenched Altars , by Most Rev. Francis C. Kelley and Mexican Martyrdom , by Fr. Wilfrid Parsons, S.J. Both books are published by TAN Books.