‘¡Viva Cristo Rey!’ 'Long live Christ the King!' 23 November 1927
I posted this a year ago but I believe that Blessed Miguel Pro SJ is truly a man of and for our times.
Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King and tomorrow, the feast of St Columban, is also the feast of Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro SJ, surely one of the most attractive of all the Blesseds and Saints in heaven.
The photo above was taken on 23 November 1927 in Mexico City just before the execution by firing squad of 36-year-old Fr Miguel Agustin Pro SJ. In his right hand was a crucifix and in his left a rosary. His last words were ‘¡Viva Cristo Rey!’ 'Long live Christ the King'.
I first saw this photo in 1955, when I was 12. It was in a supplement to the Irish Independent on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The paper, at the time very Catholic in its ethos - it is very different now - had an outstanding photo from each year of its publication. That of Father Pro was its choice for 1927. It made a profound impact on me, as it does still.
Blessed Miguel was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 15 September 1988. The Pope said on that occasion, '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.'
Joy was a characteristic of this most attractive of saints. In nearly all photos of him that I have seen, not only those taken on his execution day, he looks deadly serious. But he was a practical joker of the first order and he also suffered from poor health all his life.
Blessed Miguel's feast is observed in the USA and, I presume, in Mexico, on 23 November, which is also the feast of St Columban and of St Clement of Rome. It is only proper to recall this great Jesuit priest whose last words were those of forgiveness for those who were about to kill him and whose final words were the inspiring ‘¡Viva Cristo Rey!’
You can read more about Blessed Miguel here - that site has many photos - and here.
Here is an article about Blessed Miguel that we published in Misyon in September-October 2004.
BLESSED MIGUEL AGUSTIN PRO SJ
By Sister Mariana Reyes HGS
Sister Mariana came to the Philippines in 2000. She is a member of the Hermanas Guadalupanas de la Salle founded in Mexico in 1946 by Brother Juan Fromental Coyroche, a De La Salle Brother from France. The Sisters follow the charism of St John Baptist De La Salle, involved in the promotion of Christian Education. Their spirituality in their service of God inspires them to look to Our Lady of Guadalupe in her role as evangelizer to the people they serve. They arrived in the Philippines in 1984. They also work in Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Italy, Vatican, USA, La Reunion and Madagascar. The Sisters' Philippine website is here.
Martyr: we have often heard the deep meaning of this word. Witness: to suffer for the God who has kept you alive, and, if required, to give up your life also. The word makes us recall the Witness par excellence: Jesus Christ. The word ‘martyr’ recalls for us the many believers in the early Church, who rather than give up their faith and to show their love, trust and faith in God, faced death.
But here is a modern witness, facing his killers wearing a suit and tie. It’s November 23, 1927, during the religious persecution in Mexico. He is Father Miguel Agustin Pro SJ.
José Ramon Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez was born on 13 January 1891 in Guadalupe, Mexico, one of 11 children of Don Miguel and Josefa. As a child he had been dangerously ill for a year. Don Miguel held his son before an image of La Virgen de Guadalupe and said, ‘Madre mia, give me back my son.’ Despite not being particularly religious he found his vocation at 20 and entered the Jesuits despite his fragile health, which meant more suffering. His vocation involved leaving his loving family behind, fleeing to foreign lands, strange languages and customs, as he couldn’t study in Mexico because of the persecution. He studied in the USA, in Nicaragua, Spain and Belgium where he was ordained in 1925.
Father Pro had a number of operations for a bad stomach. He also suffered because of his concern for his family who went through great financial hardship during the persecution. His superiors assigned him to work at home in 1926.
Returning to Mexico he showed with passion that he understood the words ‘The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.’ He knew well that any priest found propagating Catholicism could face the death penalty. Many were executed. But we see something really special in Father Pro – his ability to inject into his adventures the cheerfulness that characterized him: one word, one gesture was many times enough to see him escape from the police. In spite of the danger he never lost his sense of humor which he saw as a gift from God. As a child he was musical and a practical joker.
Earthly powers weren’t able to stop his priestly zeal. His cheerfulness made him try one and another way of deceiving the detectives assigned to detect violators of the law. He wore many disguises in order to administer the sacraments, celebrate Mass or lead a recollection. There’s a photo of him dressed as a mechanic. On one occasion on his way to anoint an old person he spotted the detectives. A young Catholic woman whom he knew happened to pass by. He linked arms with her and the police thought they were sweethearts.
Meantime, the persecution continued. Churches were closed, Catholic schools suppressed, convents expropriated, religious communities persecuted. So many priests, religious, lay persons died. This was Mexico, the land Our Lady visited on 1531 in her apparition to the indigenous St Juan Diego. It seemed that this land had changed its patron. But the blood of martyrs is the seed of new Christians, and the execution of hundreds was not enough to eradicate the Catholic faith from Mexican soil.
Now it was the moment Divine Providence destined for Father Pro to bear the supreme testimony of his faith. In November 1927, the authorities arrested Father Pro, along with his brothers Humberto and Roberto. The government authorities linked them to an assassination attempt on the presidential candidate General Álvaro Obregón through an old car that had once belonged to Humberto. (General Obregón had been president from 1920 to 1924 when he was replaced by his ally Plutarco Elías Calles who was the real power. General Obregón was assassinated after being re-elected in 1928.) The authorities were well aware that the brothers were innocent. But because they considered Catholic priests their enemies, the government saw in Padre Miguel and his brothers the perfect scapegoats. Without due process or trial, they sentenced them to death.
The government had a photographer cover the execution to show up Catholics as cowards. The photos had the opposite effect and later the government made it a crime to possess them.
Father Miguel was given a couple of minutes to pray before his execution. He rejected the traditional blindfold and said to the firing squad, ‘May God have mercy on you. May God bless you. Lord, you know that I am innocent. With all my heart I forgive my enemies.’ Serene, he stretched out his arms in the form of a cross, holding a rosary in his left hand, a crucifix in his right. With his last breath he said quietly but clearly, ‘¡Viva Cristo Rey!’ ‘Long live Christ the King!’ This cry was the assurance that the persecuted and suffering Church of Mexican was owned by Christ its King.
The effect of the news was the opposite to what the government had expected. Thousands turned out for the funeral of Father Miguel and his brother Humberto – Roberto had been released. An old blind woman in the crowd who came to touch his body left with her sight restored. The fervor of the Catholic faithful grew stronger and their fear lessened because of the testimony of the martyrdom of this man of God, this committed priest, selfless in his generous ministry of the Word and the Sacraments; a creative, fun-loving joker, despite his serious demeanor in photos.
Sometime before his death he said to a friend that if he came upon any somber-looking saints in heaven, he’d do the Mexican hat dance to cheer them up. How well he used his gifts to live and die with passion for Christ and his Gospel. May we find in this witness, an inspiration to see that it is possible to live our faith with creativity and face challenges the challenges of modern times in a concrete, loving way.
Just before his execution
Chaplet of Blessed Miguel
Blessed Miguel, before your death, you told your friend to ask you for favors when you were in Heaven. I beg you to intercede for me and in union with Our Lady and all the angels and saints, to ask Our Lord to grant my petition, provided that it be God's Will. {mention the request}
We honor and adore the triune God. The Gloria.
We ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Come Holy Ghost.
We pray as Jesus taught us to pray. The Our Father.
We venerate with love the Virgin Mary. Hail Mary.
All you angels, bless you the Lord forever.
Saint Joseph, Saint {name of your patron}, and all the saints, pray for us. Blessed Miguel, high spirited youth, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, loving son and brother, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, patient novice, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, exile from your homeland, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, prayerful religious, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, sick and suffering, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, defender of workers, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, courageous priest in hiding, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, prisoner in jail, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, forgiver of persecutors, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Blessed Miguel, holy martyr, pray for us. Viva Christo Rey.
Imprimatur: Joseph A. Fiorenza, Bishop of Galveston - Houston, August 13, 1995