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OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF BLESSED MIGUEL AGUSTÍN PRO, PRIEST AND MARTYR, NOVEMBER 23, 2022


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A Gospel according to LK 21:12-19


Jesus said to the crowd:

“They will seize and persecute you,

they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,

and they will have you led before kings and governors

because of my name.

It will lead to your giving testimony.

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,

for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking

that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

You will even be handed over by parents,

brothers, relatives, and friends,

and they will put some of you to death.

You will be hated by all because of my name,

but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.

By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”


REFLECTION

"They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name."


Tertullian, one of the early Church Fathers said:

“We are not a new philosophy but a divine revelation. That’s why you can’t just exterminate us; the more you kill the more we are. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. You praise those who endured pain and death – so long as they aren’t Christians! Your cruelties merely prove our innocence of the crimes you charge against us… And you frustrate your purpose. Because those who see us die, wonder why we do, for we die like the men you revere, not like slaves or criminals. And when they find out, they join us.”

The persecution of Christians in Mexico and the secularization of the country started as early as 1914, during the Revolution war. As churches, convents and seminaries were ransacked many seminarians crossed towards the United States and other countries to seek refuge and continue their studies. One of these seminarians was Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro. He moved first to the United States, and then to several other countries to continue his theology studies as a Jesuit until his ordination in Belgium in 1925. He returned to Mexico in 1926.


By that time the Revolution war was over, and several dictatorships had ruled Mexico. Most of them were unsympathetic to the Catholic faith. In 1926 President Plutarco Elias Calles made changes to the Mexican Constitution where churches were required to pay taxes, only one priest could serve sometimes a whole state, and even tried to force priests to be married in certain states to be able to exercise their office. As a result all public worship was suppressed, foreign priests and religious expelled from the country, and church property was taken by the government and used for other purposes than worship.


Father Pro ministered to faithful Catholics disguising himself when moving from one place to another, and said masses and gave the sacraments to people in their homes hiding from the government. With the help of two of his brothers he distributed printed material from the Religious Defense League until 1927.


On November 13, there was an assassination attempt on General Alvaro Obregon. Since this happened in a car sold by the Pro brothers a few days earlier, they were arrested as the main suspects of the attempt. Even though the real person that tried to assassinate the general turned himself in, President Calles wanted to make an example of the priest and sentenced him to death.


The president invited a group of friends to witness a special execution. On November 23, in front of the firing squad, Father Pro refused the blindfold, extended his arms in the form a crucifix, and exclaimed: “May God have mercy on you! May God bless you! Lord, Thou know that I am innocent! With all my heart I forgive my enemies!”

as the firing squad was about to shoot, he shouted: "Vivo Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King."


President Calles had the whole execution photographed, and distributed the pictures amongst the population trying to discourage Catholics in their faith. However, this had the opposite effect.


Father Pro's father retrieved his body. About 40,000 people lined up for the funeral, and another 20,000 awaited in the cemetery. His picture was carried by the Cristeros who fought against the oppressive regime for a couple more years.


His example teaches us to persevere amongst persecution, and to forgive our enemies. He was a pastor of his sheep during difficult times, and never abandoned them. He is a great example for all the priests that are persecuted and oppressed by dictatorship regimes.


Blessed Father Pro, pray for us!


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