Mariano de la Mata Aparício (31 December 1905 - 5 April 1983) 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, Can ...
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 let ...
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 partic ...
and a professed member of the
Order of Saint Augustine
The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...
.
He joined the missions in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
where he served until his death and was known for his educational work with the poor. His age and diminishing health was no obstacle for him throughout his time in Brazil and it did not hinder his efforts to visit the sick or go out to be with the people he looked after.
His beatification cause opened on 14 December 1996 and he became titled as a
Servant of God
"Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
while
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 ...
confirmed his
heroic virtue
Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...
on 20 December 2004 and titled him as
Venerable
The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism.
Christianity
Cat ...
;
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
beatified him on 5 November 2006 though Cardinal
José Saraiva Martins
José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F. GCC (born 6 January 1932) is a Portuguese Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1998 to 2008.
Born in Gagos de Jarmelo in Guarda, Portugal, to ...
presided over the celebration in Brazil.
Life
Mariano de la Mata Aparício was born in Palencia on 31 December 1905 as one of eight children to Manuel and Martina. Three brothers before him had become members of the
Order of Saint Augustine
The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...
while he was the uncle of six who joined that order.
[
He entered the Order of Saint Augustine in 1921 and then began his studies for the priesthood in ]Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
before continuing his studies at Santa María de la Vid in Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence o ...
. He was vested in the habit on 9 September 1921 and in 1922 made his initial profession; he had received the habit from the Blessed Anselm Polanco.[ In 1926 he was transferred back to Santa María de la Vid where he completed his theological courses. He made his solemn profession on 23 January 1927 and he was later ]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 ...
to the priesthood on 25 July 1930. He was appointed to teach at one of the order's school (College la Encarnación) at Llanes
Llanes (the ''Concejo de Llanes'', ''Conceyu de Llanes'' in Asturian language) is a municipality of the province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Stretching for about 30 km along the coast at the extreme east of the province, Llanes is bound ...
for a brief period of time and then in July 1931 was sent to the order's vice-province of Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
to work there.[ He first worked in a local parish from 1931 to 1933 at ]Taquaritinga
Taquaritinga is a city in the Central North area of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 57,364 (2020 est.) in an area of 594 km². The population is formed basically by European descendants (Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese). Af ...
in the São Paulo state. In 1933 he was transferred to the Saint Augustine college where he taught natural sciences
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...
until 1949 and from 1942 to 1945 he was also the college's administrator. From 1945 to 1948 he led the Brazil branch of the order as the Prior Vice-Provincial. He continued his apostolate in São Paulo as a professor and superior in Engenheiro Schmitt.[
In 1961 he returned to teach at the Saint Augustine college and also took on the duties of a ]spiritual director
Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...
at the Saint Rita of Cascia Workshop as well as the parochial vicar of the Saint Augustine church. He tended to the needs of those who surrounded him and went to visit the sick on a regular basis as was the case with Sergio Teixera.[ He visited this student of his for twelve months on a regular basis and gave him private lessons during his illness. Another student - Horacio Gentile - was visited on a regular basis during his two month time in the hospital notwithstanding the great distance and steep climb the prelate had to endure to get to him. In character he was remembered as an active and enterprising prelate who was open and communicative to all; a person of affection and kindness.][ He organized more than 200 of the Saint Rita Workshops which attracted poor people to make clothing that the poor could afford. He was often seen walking down the streets of São Paulo to pastoral visits though even as he aged and his strength waned and his vision grew dim he still made this a practice.
He had his sight diminishing due to ]cataracts
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...
which he removed but had his eyes covered for a little while despite his evident frustration at being unable to do things. He was diagnosed with cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in January 1983 and underwent an operation to remove a malignant tumor in the pancreas
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an ...
but the cancer continued to spread at a rapid pace. He died from cancer on 5 April 1983.[ His remains rest beside the altar of the Virgin of Consolation in the church of Saint Augustine in São Paulo. The Brazilian consulate - from Spain - awarded him the posthumous honor of having the ]Order of Isabella the Catholic
The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...
.
Beatification
The beatification process opened on 14 December 1996 after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...
titled the late priest as a Servant of God
"Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
and issued the official " nihil obstat" to the cause while Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns oversaw the diocesan process from 31 May 1997 until 16 December 1997. The C.C.S. validated this process in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
on 12 February 1999 and received the Positio
In the Catholic Church, a ''positio'' (''Positio super Virtutibus'') is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a person is declared Venerable, the second of the four steps on the path to canonization as a saint.
De ...
dossier from the postulation later in 2002. The six theologians assigned to review it approved it on 27 April 2004 as did the C.C.S. on 5 October 2004. The confirmation of the late priest's heroic virtue
Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...
allowed for 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 ...
to title him as Venerable
The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism.
Christianity
Cat ...
on 20 December 2004.
The miracle for beatification was investigated in the Brazilian diocese that it originated in and concerned the healing of the child João Paulo Polotto who let go of his mother's hand and crossed the street and suffered a fractured skull after a truck hit him. The child was hospitalized with a severe cerebral hemorrhage but was healed. The process received C.C.S. validation on 23 November 2001 and a medical panel of experts approved that the child's healing was a miracle on 21 October 2004; theologians likewise agreed on 2 February 2005 as did the C.C.S. on 7 June 2005. Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
confirmed this miracle on 28 April 2006 and thus approved the beatification. Cardinal José Saraiva Martins
José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F. GCC (born 6 January 1932) is a Portuguese Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1998 to 2008.
Born in Gagos de Jarmelo in Guarda, Portugal, to ...
presided over the celebration on the pope's behalf before 8000 people in the São Paulo Cathedral
The São Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral ( pt, Catedral Metropolitana de São Paulo), also known as the See Cathedral ( pt, Catedral da Sé), is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Paulo, Brazil. Its current and seventh Metro ...
on 5 November 2006.
The current postulator
A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...
for this cause is the Augustinian priest Josef Sciberras.
References
External links
Hagiography Circle
Saints SQPN
Santi e Beati
Midwest Augustinians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mata Aparício, Mariano de la
1905 births
1983 deaths
20th-century venerated Christians
20th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests
Augustinian friars
Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI
Brazilian beatified people
Deaths from cancer in São Paulo (state)
People from Palencia
Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Spanish beatified people
Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II
20th-century Brazilian Roman Catholic priests