Today is the feast of Blessed Miguel Pro, S.J., martyred in Mexico in 1927.
Please click here to view "Mexico's Merry Martyr". Link near bottom left.
More pictures, including an autopsy photograph, here.
"Pro was killed by a firing squad in front of news cameras that the government had brought in to record what it hoped would be the embarrassing spectacle of a priest pleading for mercy. It was one of the first modern attempts to use media images to manipulate public opinion for antireligious purposes. But instead of wavering, Pro displayed great dignity. He walked out to the execution bravely, asking only to be allowed to pray before dying. After a few minutes, he stood up, extended his arms in the form of a cross, a traditional Mexican posture in prayer, and with a steady voice, neither defiant not desperate, movingly intoned words that have since become famous: 'Viva Cristo Rey,' 'Long Live Christ the King.'"
--From The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century: A Comprehensive World History, by Robert Royal.
In 1956, Treasure Chest published http://www.aladin.wrlc.org/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=d-01000-00---off-0treasure--00-1--0-10-0---0---0prompt-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-home---01-3-1-00-0-0-11-0-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=treasure&cl=CL4.15.61>"The Merry Martyr," a ten-part story of Father Pro.
A prayer to Blessed Miguel:
Beato Miguel, antes de tu muerte tu le dijiste a tu amigo que él te pidiera favores cuando tú estuvieras en el cielo. Te ruego que intercedas por m' y, junto con Nuestra Señora y todos los ángeles y los santos, pidan a Nuestro Señor que El conceda mi petición (aqu' menciona tu petición), si es la voluntad de Dios.
The cause for the canonization of Blessed Miguel in the United States is handled by the Vice-Postulator in Mexico, Fr. Fernando Suarez, S.J. To report a favor obtained through the intercession of Blessed Miguel Pro, S.J., send an e-mail to Lawrence LeLeux: lawrence@miguelproshrine.com
