Juan de Prado (c. 1563 – 24 May 1631) was a
Spanish
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**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
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priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
and a professed member from the
Order of Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...
. He served as part of the missions in Muslim
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
at the request of
Pope Urban VIII and brought much solace to the small Christian population there before the ruler had him murdered.
Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...
confirmed his beatification in mid-1728 after confirming that the priest had been murdered in hatred of his Christian faith.
Life
Juan de Prado was born in León circa 1563 to a noble family and was orphaned sometime prior to 1568. He undertook theological studies at the
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
at
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...
,
and entered the
Order of Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...
in 1584. He was subsequently ordained and began his ministry as a preacher. He served in various Franciscan houses as novice master and later as guardian.
In 1610 he was elected provincial minister of the Franciscan Province of San Diego. In 1613 an outbreak of plague in Morocco killed all the Franciscans engaged there in the difficult mission. De Prado was appointed by
Pope Urban VIII as an apostolic missionary to work among the small Christian population.
He and two companions departed on November 27 from
Cadiz and arrived for the mission in
Marrakesh,
[ where he evangelized and provided comfort to the faithful there while also administering the sacraments to them.][ They also dedicated themselves to work among the Christian slaves.][Arduino, Fabio. "Blessed Giovanni di Prado Priest and martyr", Santi e Beati, May 12, 2005]
/ref> The local authorities ordered them to leave the country, but the three Franciscans did not and continued their activity.
Sultan Al Walid ben Zidan
Al Walid ben Zidan (), also known as Mulay al-Walid (? – 21 February 1636) was the Sultan of Morocco from 1631 to 1636.
He was assassinated by French renegades on February 1636. Al Walid ben Zidan was succeeded by his brother Mohammed esh-Shei ...
had them arrested and imprisoned. They were sentenced to hard labor in the crushing of saltpeter, a mineral for the manufacture of gunpowder. Questioned by the sultan, they did not hesitate to profess their Christian faith and were therefore scourged. At a subsequent public interrogation, de Prado ignored the presence of Sultan and directed his attention and statements to some apostates present. Al Walid struck him, knocking him to the ground. De Prado was then wounded by two arrows.[
The Sultan ordered that de Prado be burnt to death,][ but as he continued to exhort the executioners to follow Christ, one of them became impatient and smashed his head with a stone.
]
Beatification
On 24 May 1728 Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...
confirmed that de Prado had been killed ''in odium fidei'' ("in hatred of the faith"), thus permitting his beatification.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prado, Juan
1563 births
1631 deaths
16th-century venerated Christians
16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests
17th-century venerated Christians
17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
17th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests
Roman Catholic missionaries in Morocco
Franciscan beatified people
Franciscan martyrs
Franciscan missionaries
Martyred Roman Catholic priests
People from León, Spain
Spanish beatified people
Spanish Franciscans
University of Salamanca alumni
Venerated Catholics
People murdered in Morocco
Spanish people murdered abroad
Spanish people who died in prison custody
Prisoners who died in Moroccan detention
Beatifications by Pope Benedict XIII