:''Not to be mistaken for footballer

Roque Santa Cruz Roque Luis Santa Cruz Cantero (; born 16 August 1981) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Paraguayan club Club Libertad. He is the record goal scorer and has earned over 100 caps for the Paraguay national team, ...

.'' Roque González de Santa Cruz (17 November 1576 – 15 November 1628) was a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

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 particu ...

who was the first missionary among the

Guarani people Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

in Paraguay. He is honored as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church.

Life

González was born in the city of

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, now part of Paraguay, on 17 November 1576. He was the son of the Spanish colonists Bartolomé González y de Villaverde and María de Santa Cruz, who were both from noble families. Due to the large native population in the region, he spoke

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

fluently from an early age, as well as his native Spanish. In 1598, at the age of 23, González was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

by Fernando Trexo y Senabria, the

Bishop of Córdoba A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, to serve that

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

. In 1609 he became a member of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, beginning his work as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in what is now Brazil. He became the first

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

person to enter the region known today as the State of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

, extending the system of

Jesuit reduction Reductions ( es, reducciones, also called ; , pl. ) were settlements created by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such red ...

s begun in Paraguay to that region. González' arrival in the area happened only after his developing delicate relationships of trust with local indigenous leaders, some of whom feared that the priests were preparing the way for the arrival of masses of Spanish colonists in their land. In 1613 González led the founding of the Reduction of

San Ignacio Miní San Ignacio Miní was one of the many Mission (Christian), missions founded in 1610 in Argentina, by the Society of Jesus, Jesuits in what the colonial Spaniards called the Province of Paraguay of the Americas during the Spanish colonization of th ...

. In 1615 he founded Itapúa, which is now the City of Posadas in the Argentine Province of Misiones. Then he had to move the reduction to the other side of the river, now the site of the City of Encarnación. He also founded the reductions of Concepción de la Sierra Candelaria (1619), Candelaria (1627), San Javier, Yapeyú (now in the Province of

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní language, Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the Provinces of Argentina, province of Corrientes Province, Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from ...

), San Nicolás, Asunción del

Ijuí Ijuí () is a Brazilian municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, situated from the state capital, Porto Alegre. In 2020 its population was 83,764, making it the third most populous city of the Missões region, behind Passo Fundo and Erechim. Demogra ...

, and Caaró (now in Brazil). In the region of Iyuí, he had difficulties with the local chieftain and sorcerer (''

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

'') Ñezú. On 15 November 1628, while preparing to oversee the installation of a new bell for the church at the Mission of Todos los Santos de Caaró, González was struck down and killed with a tomahawk, along with his fellow Jesuit,

Juan del Castillo Juan del Castillo (c. 1590 – c. 1657) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Many of his paintings became famous during his time due to his pupil, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Del Castillo was the youngest brother of the painter Agustín. Both were tr ...

, upon the orders of the local chieftain

Nheçu Nheçu () or Chief Nheçu was Guaraní Indian leader who lived during the 17th century in the region of today's municipality of Roque Gonzales, in the Western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil. Historical records l ...

who opposed the missions. After their deaths, their bodies were dragged into the church, which was set ablaze. Two days later, their colleague Alonso Rodríguez y Olmedo was also murdered by followers of Nheçu.

Veneration

González was

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 ...

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

on 28 January 1934. He and his companions were later

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in Asunción, thus becoming the first native of Paraguay to be declared a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

by the Catholic Church. González has been named the

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 ...

of the cities of Posadas, Argentina, and

Encarnación, Paraguay Encarnación () is a district and the capital city of Itapúa Department in Paraguay, located at the south-east of the department, on the right-hand (western) shore of the Paraná River, opposite Posadas, Argentina. The city has an area of 27 ...

. Liturgically he is commemorated on 16 November, along with the other "Martyrs of the

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

References

Bibliography

Ghezzi, Bert. "St. Roque González, SJ (1576-1628)", ''Voices of the Saints''
*Clement J. McNaspy, S.J.: ''Conquistador without Sword. The Life of Roque González, S.J.'', Chicago, Loyola University Press, 1984, 206pp.
'Os Olhos do Pe. Roque' or 'Father Roque's Eyes'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Roque Jesuit saints 1576 births 1628 deaths People from Asunción Viceroyalty of Peru people 16th-century Spanish Jesuits Paraguayan Jesuits Jesuit martyrs Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries Brazilian Roman Catholic saints Spanish Roman Catholic saints Paraguayan Roman Catholic saints 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Beatifications by Pope Pius XI 16th-century Christian saints 17th-century Christian saints Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Christians in Paraguay