Pedro Armengol (c. 1238 - 27 April 1304), born Pedro Armengol Rocafort, was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

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 *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

who was of noble stock and was a thief during his adolescence. He became a professed member of the

Mercedarians The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives ( la, Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order es ...

after he experienced a sudden conversion and devoted himself from liberating persecuted Christians from the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

. Armengol is best known for being hanged while a captive of the Moors but survived the attempted killing. He received canonization as a saint on 8 April 1687 after

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689. Poli ...

approved his sainthood and his long-standing "cultus" - or devotion.

Life

Pedro Armengol Rocafort was born in

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

in 1238 to the nobleman Arnau Armengol Rocafort. He became quite proud and competitive and was also strong-willed as an adolescent during which time he became a robber and formed a cohesive group of bandits with himself as its leader. In 1258

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

travelled to

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

from

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in which Armengol's father was a soldier in the entourage. Armengol's bandits collided with the soldiers and father and son were soon recognized to each other during the skirmish. Armengol surrendered in tears upon this realization. In

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

he appealed for the pardon of James I - though his father's intervention granted him this. His period of reflection while imprisoned caused a sudden religious conversion within him and he became resolved to become a professed religious. He became a member of the

in 1258 and devoted himself to aiding persecuted Christians in liberating them from the

. In 1261 with William de Bas he was sent to

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

and freed 213 captives from the Arabs and in 1262 went to

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

with Br. Bernard of San Romano in which the pair freed 202 prisoners. Armengol also went to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

in 1264 for the same mission and also went to Trangier and

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

. In 1266 he and William de Bas went to Bejaia to free 18 captives but he was apprehended (since he wanted to take the place of those prisoners) and sentenced to be hanged. He endured much torture before he was hanged. Brother The heartbroken William searched for his friend's remains to find him alive. He was hanged but the

Blessed Mother Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

came to his aid with the help of angels and stopped him from being killed. William arrived with a ransom but was told it would not be accepted since Armengol was hanged. William found him not long after to still be alive and freed him. Armengol told him of the vision he had and of his saviors. However the attempted execution would have a lasting impact on Armengol: it left his neck twisted and his face became quite haggard. The pair used the ransom to purchase the freedom of the captives and travelled back to

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

. Armengol died on 27 April 1304. In 1646 the church he was buried in was burnt but his remains went undamaged. Minor modifications to his tomb were made in 1653.

Sainthood

On 28 March 1686 he was beatified after

approved his long-standing ''

cultus Cultus may refer to: *Cult (religious practice) * ''Cultus'' (stonefly), a genus of stoneflies * Cultus Bay, a bay in Washington * Cultus Lake (disambiguation) *Cultus River The Cultus River is a stream in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in Desc ...

'' and later canonized him as a saint on 8 April 1687.

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758.Antipope ...

affixed his feast as being on 27 April - the date of his death - but it was moved in 1969 to 26 April due to the reform of the

General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These celebra ...

References

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amengol, Pedro 1238 births 1304 deaths 13th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon 13th-century Roman Catholics 14th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon 14th-century Roman Catholics Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy People from Tarragona Spanish Roman Catholic saints Mercedarian saints Beatifications by Pope Innocent XI Canonizations by Pope Innocent XI

Life

Sainthood

See also

References

External links