Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur
Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur y Gonzáles | |
|---|---|
| Religious and missionary | |
| Born | 21 March 1626 Vilaflor, Tenerife, Spanish Empire |
| Died | 25 April 1667 (aged 41) Antigua Guatemala, Captaincy General of Guatemala, Spanish Empire |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church (Canary Islands & Guatemala) |
| Beatified | June 22, 1980, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | July 30, 2002, Guatemala City, Guatemala by Pope John Paul II |
| Major shrine | Cave of Santo Hermano Pedro and Sanctuary of the Santo Hermano Pedro (Tenerife) and San Francisco Church in Antigua, Guatemala |
| Feast | April 25 |
| Attributes | Holds a walking stick and bell. Occasionally it also represents a spear canary pastor. |
| Patronage | Canary Islands, Guatemala, Central America, catechists of Guatemala, Honorary Mayor of municipalities in the south of Tenerife and Honorary Mayor of Antigua Guatemala, of the homeless and of those who serve the sick. |
Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur (or Betancourt) y Gonzáles, OFB (Spanish: Pedro de San José de Betancur y Gonzáles, 21 March 1626– 25 April 1667), also called Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt (Brother Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur) or more simply Peter de Betancurt, Hermano Pedro (Brother Peter), Santo Hermano Pedro (Saint Brother Peter), or San Pedro de Vilaflor (Saint Peter of Vilaflor), was a Spanish saint and missionary in Guatemala.
Known as the "Saint Francis of Assisi of the Americas", he is the first saint native to the Canary Islands. He left at the age of 23 for New Spain, and is considered the first saint of Guatemala and Central America for having done his missionary work in those American lands. He was the founder of Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem.