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 Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. The org ...

, of Council 2140. Correa was born at

Tepechitlán The municipality of Tepechitlán is located in the southwestern portion of the Mexican state of Zacatecas. It is located between 21º33'49" and 21º44'00" latitude north and 103º09'07" and 103º32'01" longitude west with an average altitude of ...

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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 at ...

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 Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 st ...

in 1898, and then to

Colotlán The Municipio (Mexico), municipality of Colotlán is in the northern extremity of the Mexican state of Jalisco. The municipality covers an area of approximately 648 square kilometers. Colotlán is located at . It stands at above sea level. Co ...

in 1908. Following the government's repression of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

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 par ...

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 The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularist and anticlerical articles of the 1917 Con ...

, 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 Reconciliation 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 John Paul II on May 21, 2000. 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, John Paul 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

El Pueblo Catolico

{{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 Executed Roman Catholic priests Victims of anti-Catholic violence in Mexico