San Pascualito (also known as San Pascualito Muerte and El Rey San Pascual) is a

folk saint Folk saints are dead people or other spiritually powerful entities (such as indigenous spirits) venerated as saints, but not officially canonized. Since they are saints of the "folk", or the ''populus'', they are also called popular saints. Like o ...

associated with Saint Paschal Baylon and venerated in Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas. He is called "King of the Graveyard." His veneration is associated with the curing of disease, and is related to the

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n cult of death. The tradition may be related to the worship of a

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

death god Many have incorporated a god of death into their mythology or religion. As death, along with birth, is among the major parts of human life, these deities may often be one of the most important deities of a religion. In some religions in which a ...

. San Pascualito is represented as a skeleton, sometimes caped or wearing a crown. The veneration of San Pascualito is not approved by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

History

San Pascualito derived his name from the Spanish

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

Paschal Baylon Paschal is used as a name. Paschal, a variant of Pascal, from Latin ''Paschalis'', is an adjective describing either the Easter or Passover holidays. People known as Paschal include: Popes and religious figures * Antipope Paschal (687), a riv ...

, who according to historian

Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán (1643–1700) was a Guatemalan '' criollo'' historian and poet. His only surviving work is the '' Recordación Florida''. Biography Fuentes y Guzmán was born to a wealthy family in Santiago de los Caballer ...

, is said to have appeared in 1650 in a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

of an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Guatemalan man in San Antonio Aguacaliente (modern day Ciudad Vieja). The man was dying from an

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

fever called ''cucumatz'' in Kaqchikel, and had received the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...

before a tall skeleton in glowing robes appeared to him in a vision. The figure introduced himself as "Saint Paschal Baylon," although Baylon was not

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

until 1690. (He had been

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

in 1618.) He promised to intercede to end ''cucumatz'' if he were to be adopted by the community as

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

and his image venerated. As proof of his identity, the figure predicted that the man receiving the vision would die within nine days, at which time the epidemic would also cease. When the man died within the predicted timeframe and the epidemic ended, word of the vision spread, and images of San Pascualito became popular despite formal prohibition by the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

Veneration

A chapel in Olintepeque, Guatemala is dedicated to the veneration of El Rey San Pascual. Devotees leave thank you notes, offer

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

s or burn candles. The color of the candle burned signifies the nature of the request for intercession: red for love, pink for health, yellow for protection, green for business, blue for work, light blue for money, purple for help against vices, white for the protection of children, and black for revenge. A festival is celebrated annually on May 17, the feast day of Saint Paschal Baylon. Another sacred replica, represented by a seated skeleton in a wheeled cart, is kept in the Church of San Pascualito in

Tuxtla Gutiérrez Tuxtla Gutiérrez (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, the most developed and populated in the state. A busy government, commercial and servic ...

in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

Literature

San Pascualito is represented by a character named Pascal in the novel ''El tiempo principia en Xibalbá'' ("Time Commences in Xibalbá") by Guatemalan author Luis de Lión (José Luis de León Díaz).

References

;General * ;Specific {{refend Chiapas Christianity and death Religion in Guatemala Religion in Mexico Folk saints Guatemalan folklore Mexican folklore Maya mythology and religion Superstitions of Mexico Superstitions of the Americas Christianity and religious syncretism Miracle workers

History

Veneration

Literature

See also

References