| Saint Peter of Alcántara, O.F.M. | |
|---|---|
The apparition of Saint John of Capistrano to Saint Peter of Alcantara by Luca Giordano. |
|
| Confessor, Reformer | |
| Born | 1499 Alcántara, Province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Kingdom of Castile |
| Died | October 18, 1562 Arenas de San Pedro, Province of Avila, Old Castile, Kingdom of Spain |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | April 18, 1622, Rome by Pope Gregory XV |
| Canonized | April 28, 1669, Rome by Pope Clement IX |
| Feast | October 18 October 19 (General Roman Calendar 1670–1969) |
| Patronage | Brazil; Extremadura; Nocturnal Adorers |
Saint Peter of Alcántara, O.F.M., (Spanish: San Pedro de Alcántara) (1499 – October 18, 1562) was a Spanish Franciscan friar.
Contents |
He was born at Alcántara, Province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. His father, Peter Garavito, was the governor of Alcántara, and his mother was of the noble family of Sanabia. After a course of grammar and philosophy in his native town, he was sent, at the age of fourteen, to the University of Salamanca.
Returning home, he became a Franciscan friar of the Stricter Observance in the friary at Manxaretes, Extremadura, in 1515. At the age of twenty-two he was sent to found a new community of the Stricter Observance at Badajoz. He was ordained a priest in 1524, and the following year was appointed Guardian of the friary of St. Mary of the Angels at Robredillo, Old Castile. A few years later he began preaching with much success. He preferred to preach to the poor; his sermons, taken largely from the Prophets and Sapiential Books, breathe the tenderest human sympathy. At the time Peter entered the Order, the reform of the "Discalced Friars" consisted of the Custody of the friaries in Spain and Santa Maria Pietatis in Portugal, all subject to the Minister General of the Observants.
Having been elected Minister (i.e. superior) of St. Gabriel Province in 1538, Peter set to work at once. At the chapter of Plasencia in 1540 he drew up the Constitutions of the Stricter Observance, but his severe ideas met with such opposition that he renounced the office of Minister Provincial and retired with John of Avila into the mountains of Arrábida in Portugal, where he joined Friar Martim de Santa Maria in a life of eremitical solitude. Soon, though, other friars came to join him, and several little communities were established. Peter was chosen guardian and Master of novices at the friary of Palhais, Barreiro. In 1560 these communities were erected into the Province of Arrábida.
Returning to Spain in 1553 he spent two more years in solitude; then he journeyed barefoot to Rome and obtained permission of Julius III to found some poor friaries in Spain under the jurisdiction of the Minister General of the Conventuals. Friaries were established at Pedrosa, Plasencia and elsewhere; in 1556 they were made a commissariat, with Peter as Commissary, and in 1561 a religious Province under the title of St Joseph. Not discouraged by the opposition and ill-success his efforts at reform had met with in St Gabriel Province, Peter drew up the constitutions of the new province with even greater severity. The reform spread rapidly into other provinces of Spain and Portugal.
In 1562 the Province of St Joseph was put under the jurisdiction of the Minister General of the Observants, and two new custodies were formed: St. John Baptist in Valencia and St Simon in Galicia (see Friars Minor). Besides the above-named associates of Peter may be mentioned St. Francis Borgia, John of Avila and the Venerable Louis of Granada. In St. Teresa of Jesus, Peter perceived a soul chosen of God for a great work, and her success in the reform of Carmel (see Carmelites) was in great measure due to his counsel, encouragement and defense. It was a letter from Peter (dated April 14, 1562) that encouraged her to found her first monastery at Avila, August 24 of that year. St. Teresa's autobiography is the source of much of our information regarding Peter's life, work, the gift of miracles and prophecy.
He often went into ecstasy. He is purported to have slept for only one and a half hours each day, inside his room which had a floor area of only four and a half square feet.[1] While in prayer and contemplation, he was often seen in ecstasies and levitation. In his deathbed, he was offered a glass of water which he refused, saying that "Even my Lord Jesus Christ thirsted on the Cross..." He died while on his knees in prayer on October 18, 1562 in a monastery at Arenas, (now Arenas de San Pedro, Province of Avila, Old Castile).
Besides the Constitutions of the Stricter Observance and many letters on spiritual subjects, especially to St. Teresa, he composed a short treatise on prayer, which has been translated into a number of European langua confirmation of his virtues and mission of reformation God worked numerous miracles through his intercession and still during his jlife.
Peter of Alcantara was beatified in Rome by Pope Gregory XV on April 18, 1622. Forty-seven years later he was canonized by Pope Clement IX on April 28, 1669.
Saint Peter's liturgical feast is celebrated on October 18, the day after his death.[2] Because the feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist is observed on October 18, Saint Peter's feast day was at first assigned to October 19 when in 1670 it was included in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints. Owing to the allegedly limited importance of Saint Peter's feast worldwide, it was removed in 1969 from that General Calendar, leaving it to be included in local calendars if desired.[3] But the inclusion of Saint Peter of Alcantara in the Roman Martyrology as one of the saints of October 18 means that he may still be given official honors everywhere[2] and some Traditionalist Catholics continue to observe pre-1970 versions of the General Roman Calendar.
Saint Peter of Alcantara is the patron saint of Nocturnal Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1826, he was named patron saint of Brazil, and in 1962 (the fourth centenary of his death), of Estremadura. He is also venerated as patron saint of various parishes in the United States and the Philippines. The town of San Pedro de Alcántara in the province of Málaga is named after him.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "St. Peter of Alcántara". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
