Mateo Correa Magallanes (also known as Mateo Correa, Fr. Correa; July 23, 1866 – February 6, 1927) was a

Knight of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

, of Council 2140. Correa was born at Tepechitlán,

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He attended the seminary at

on a scholarship, in 1881. He was ordained as priest in 1893 at the age of 27. As a young priest, he gave first communion to

Miguel Pro José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez, also known as Blessed Miguel Pro, SJ (January 13, 1891 – November 23, 1927) was a Mexican Jesuit priest executed under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles on the false charges of bombing and att ...

who also became a priest and was later martyred. Correa was assigned as a parish priest to

Concepción del Oro Concepción del Oro is the largest city and the seat of the Concepción del Oro Municipality in the Mexican state of Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zac ...

in 1898, and then to

Colotlán The municipality of Colotlán is in the northern extremity of the Mexican state of Jalisco. The municipality covers an area of approximately 505 square kilometers. Colotlán is located at . It stands at above sea level. Colotlán is bordere ...

in 1908. Following the government's repression of the

Catholic 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 ...

Church in 1910, he went into hiding. He was assigned to

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

in 1926.

Martyrdom

In 1927, during the government's continuing persecution of the church, Correa was arrested by soldiers as he was bringing

Viaticum Viaticum is a term used – especially in the Catholic Church – for the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion), administered, with or without Anointing of the Sick (also called Extreme Unction), to a person who is dying; viaticum is thus a part ...

to a woman who was an invalid. Accused of being part of the armed Cristero defense, he was jailed in Zacatecas, and then in Durango. On February 5, 1927, Correa was asked by General Eulogio Ortiz to hear the confessions of some imprisoned members of the Cristeros, an uprising of Catholic men who decided to fight back against the persecution of the church led by Mexico's president Plutarco Elias Calles. Correa agreed to administer the Sacrament of Confession to these prisoners, but afterward Ortiz demanded to know what the condemned prisoners had confessed. Correa refused. Ortiz then pointed a gun at Correa's head and threatened him with immediate death. Correa continued to refuse, and at dawn on February 6, 1927, he was taken to the cemetery on the outskirts of Durango and shot through the head.

Canonization

Mateo Correa Magallanes was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis on October 15, 2016, along with six other blesseds from different parts of the world. The canonization ceremony took place in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican and was attended by thousands of pilgrims from Mexico and other parts of the world. In his homily, Pope Francis praised Saint Mateo Correa Magallanes for his heroic witness of faith and love, and for his willingness to give his life for the sake of the Gospel. He urged the faithful to follow the example of the new saints and to be witnesses of Christ in their daily lives, especially in the face of persecution and violence. Saint Mateo Correa Magallanes is remembered as a symbol of courage and fidelity to Christ, and his canonization is an important moment for the Catholic Church in Mexico and around the world.

References

External links

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orwegian {{DEFAULTSORT:Correa 1866 births 1927 deaths Mexican Roman Catholic priests Mexican Roman Catholic saints 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 20th-century Christian saints Beatifications by Pope John Paul II People from Zacatecas Religious persecution