St Peter of Alcantara was also known as Pedro Garavito.
He was a Franciscan friar born in Alcantara, Spain in 1499.
He died on October 18 1562 in Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila, Spain.
We celebrate his feast day on October 18 or October 19 every year in the Catholic Church.
| St Peter of Alcantara Biography | |
|---|---|
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| Date of Birth | 1499 AD |
| Place of Birth | Alcantara, Spain |
| Profession | Franciscan friar |
| Date of Death | October 18 1562 |
| Place of Death | Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila, Spain |
| Feast Day | October 18 or October 19 |
| Beatification | Beatified by Pope Gregory XV on April 18 1622 |
| Canonization | Canonized by Pope Clement IX on April 28 1669 |
| Patron Saint of |
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St Peter of Alcantara Biography
St Peter of Alcantara was the son of Peter Garavita, governor of Alcantara in Spain and his mother hailed from the noble family of Sanabia.
Peter went to Salamanca University to study civil and canon law. In 1515, he joined the Franciscan congregation and became a Franciscan Friar of the Stricter Observance at the Friary at Manxaretes, Extremadura in Spain.
At the young age of 22, he founded the friary at Babajoz which followed the Stricter Observance of the Rules of St Francis Xavier, and served as its superior.
At age 25, in 1524, he was ordained as a priest and thereafter became the Guardian of the St Mary of the Angels’ friary at Robredillo, Spain.
St Peter of Alcantara became known for his eloquent and inspirational preaching. He was more attracted to preaching to the poor where he drew his sermons from the Prophetic and Poetic Books of the Holy Bible.
Peter later entered the Order of the Reform of the Discalced Friars and was made Franciscan provincial minister of the province of St. Gabriel of Extremadura in 1538.
He tried to enforce strict observance of rules among the friars but his plans were vehemently opposed until he resigned from that position.
He retired to the mountains of Arrábida in Portugal, where he stayed and lived a new life of solitude and prayers. When he returned to Spain, he continued to live in solitude and prayers for two years, from 1553 to early 1555.
After spending two years in solitude, St Peter of Alcantara went barefoot on a pilgrimage all the way to Rome.
In Rome, he obtained permission from Pope Julius III to establish friaries. On his way back home, he established several friaries and enforced a very strict constitution similar to that which he had hoped to enforce in St. Gabriel Province. The reforms spread very fast into other provinces of Spain and Portugal.
St Peter of Alcantara was very instrumental in encouraging St Teresa of Avila to found her monasteries in Avila and enforce strict observance of rules.
Peter also wrote a Treatise on Prayer and Meditation, which became very useful to Teresa, and St Francis de Sales.
St Peter of Alcantara lived a very pious and austere life and ate food a few times per week. He also slept a few minutes each day and would stay awake most of the night.
This is how he became the patron saint of night watchmen. He was very prayerful and it is said that he would levitate while deep in prayer.
On his deathbed, he declined a cup of water saying, “Even my Lord Jesus Christ thirsted on the Cross.” He died in prayer and meditation on October 18 1562 in the monastery at Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila, Spain.
St Peter of Alcantara was beatified by Pope Gregory XV on April 18 1622 in Rome, and canonized by Pope Clement IX on April 28 1669.
Feast Day
In 1670, his feast day was set as October 19, the day after his death because the major feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist was already set on October 18.
However, in the 1969 liturgical reforms, the feast day of St Peter of Alcantara was omitted due to its limited importance on a worldwide level.
It was however left for observance on a local level. Therefore, the feast can be celebrated on either 18 or 19 of October.
St Peter of Alcantara is the Patron Saint of
- Brazil (named by Pope Blessed Pius IX in 1862)
- Extremadura Spain (named in 1962)
- Nocturnal Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament
- Night watchmen
The town of San Pedro de Alcántara in Málaga, Spain is named after him
Other Catholic Saints whose Feast Days are in October
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