Day: September 25, 2023

Saint of the Day – 25 September – Blessed Marco Criado OSsT (1522-1569) Trinitarian Priest and Martyr, renowned Preacher, Missionary. Born as Marcus Criado Guelamo on 25 April 1522 in Andujar, Spain and died by being stoned to death on 25 September 1569 (aged 47) near La Peza, Spain. Also known as – Marco Criado Guelamo, Marco Guelamo, Mark.

Marcos Criado Guelamo, better known as Blessed Marco Criado, was born on 25 April 1522 in Andújar (Jaén) and his earthly existence came to a violent end because of his faith in the “Sweet Name of Jesus” in La Peza (Granada) on 24 September 1569. He professed as a Trinitarian (OSsT), distinguished himself for his humility and ability to preach and was Martyred for the Gospel in Las Alpujarras during a Moorish revolt.

Marco Criado was born into a large family with deep Christian roots. He was the youngest of his siblings, the son of Juan Criado Notario, a native of Lahiguera (then La Higuera de Andújar) and María or Marina Guelamo Pasillas, a pious woman from Andujar. From a very young age Marco attended the conventual Church of the Trinitarians in his hometown.

After his mother’s death, he made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady de la Cabeza in the Sierra Morena, to pray and commend his soul to God. Following tradition, he slept at the Shrine, asking the Virgin to tell him if it was the divine will that he should enter the Trinitarian Order. Marco Criado, embraced the designs of the Eternal Father and with generosity and humility, followed his vocation. In 1535. he made his Novitiate in the Convent of Andújar. His father also decided to enter religious life and join the Franciscan Order, in the Convent of Arruzafa in Córdoba.

After being Ordained as a Priest, he was later assigned, by his superiors, to the Convents of Andújar, Jaén and Úbeda, where he was given the post of preacher. In Úbeda he combined this mission with the office of Sacristan, a task to which he devoted himself body and soul, to satisfy his yearning for service to the community, with humility and simplicity. Several times he resigned from the highest offices in the Order because of his esteem and desire for a life of evangelical simplicity.

It happened that Archbishop Pedro Guerrero of Granada, concerned about the serious insurrections taking place in the area of the Alpujarras of Granada, met with the Bishops of Almería, Guadix and Málaga, who agreed, first of all, to “send Priests, learned in preaching and exemplary in their Christian life, to the areas most affected by the Moorish uprisings, so that they might devote themselves, with zeal, to reasemble the evangelical seed.”

At the request of the Bishop of Almería, the Trinitarian Provincial Minister of Castile and Andalusia, who was visiting Úbeda, considering the value of Friar Marco to the mission of Alpujarra, agreed that Father Marcos Criado should accompany Father Pedro de San Martín to the Almería Convent to take charge of itinerant preaching, in territories of significant Moorish population, in southeastern Spain. His companion soon died and Marco Criado was left alone, dedicated to his mission among the Moors.

Marco Criado’s apostolic outreach was directed to several localities in the Dioceses of Almería, Granada and Guadix. His preaching focused mainly on the region of the Alpujarras, where there was a large presence of Muslims, a dangerous place for any Christian preacher and also for the Christian inhabitants of the area.

The Town of La Peza became the centre of his missionary activities and was of great support to the local Parish Priest. His zeal in spreading devotion to the Sweet Name of Jesus and his popular sermons, achieved great success.

During one of his missionary journeys, while crossing the Sierra de los Filabres, Marco Criado was captured by a group of Moors, who tied him to a tree for two days. After miraculously surviving, he managed to talk to Abén Cota, leader of the rebellious Moors, to negotiate a peace agreement but this failed. He was tortured, tied to a horse’s tail and dragged for a long time. He was abandoned to his fate, thinking he would die. However, he recovered from his wounds and went on a mission to the regions of Almanzora and Tahá de Marchena, with great success in the Towns of Vera and Cadiar. There, a group of Moors had fled and they had been told to kill him during a sermon.

On Christmas night in 1568 there was a large gathering of Moors in the Alpujarras. On St John’s Eve in 1569, Muslim troops commanded by Aben Homeya decided to return to La Peza. Brother Marco and the Parish Priest were confined to the Parish Church, their movements and words constantly watched. Some exalted ones killed the Parish Priest at the door of the same Church, the same ones who, a few days later, stormed the holy place while Friar Marco was preaching to a small number of Christians who remained in Town. It was 22 September 1569 when Friar Mark was dragged from the Pulpit to the Square where he was stoned to death, after being covered with physical abuse and spit. He was pushed along the road to the Belchite Fountain on the other side of the stream, where he was tied to an oak tree. There he remained, singing hymns and loudly praising the Name of Jesus, until 25 September, when he was killed, tearing out his heart, on which, according to witnesses, the anagram of Jesus had appeared written: “IHS.”

He became known as “the Martyr of the Alpujarras” and his cult was immediately widespread. The people of La Peza call him Saint Macok. To this day, the site of his burial remains a mystery. The iconography depicts him with his heart in his hand and engraved in it, the anagram of Jesus, in memory of the prodigy that, as mentioned, occurred at the time of his Martyrdom. Having collected testimonies of his cult from Father Antonino dell’Assunta, Postulator General of the Discalced Trinitarians, Pope Leo XIII Beatified Marco on 24 July 1899. His liturgical memory is celebrated on 25 September.

“Model of holiness and perennial example, for future generations, of human and spiritual values, rooted in his deep faith in God the Trinity.” Blessed Marco, Pray for us!