⛪ Saint Manuel González García - Bishop

Saint Manuel González García, Pray for us!

⛪ Saint of the Day: January 4

⛪ Other Names:

• Apostle of the Abandoned Tabernacles •  Bishop of the Abandoned Tabernacle • Emmanuel González García

⛪ Born:

• 25 February 1877 at Seville, Spain

⛪ Died:

• 4 January 1940 in Madrid, Spain of natural causes • Buried next to the tabernacle in the Capilla del Santísimo, Cathedral of Palencia, Spain

⛪ Beatified:

• 29 April 2001 by Pope John Paul II • The beatification miracle involved the healing of Sara Ruiz Ortega, then 18 years old, of tuberculosis peritonitis which had left her paralyzed

⛪ Canonized:

• 16 October 2016 by Pope Francis • The canonization involved the healing of a Galician woman who suffered from aggressive lymphoma

⛪ Patronage:

• Children of Reparation •  Disciples of Saint John •  Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth

Founder of the Congregation of the Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth, the Disciples of Saint John, and the Children of Reparation, Seville-born Monsignor Manuel González García was the fourth of five male siblings born to a carpenter and his wife. A choir member of the cathedral of his native city, Manuel entered the seminary in Seville at the early age of twelve years and was ordained a priest there by Blessed Marcelo Spinola y Maestre, then the local ordinary, on September 21, 1901. The following year, an event occurred that propelled the young priest to dedicate himself throughout his remaining years to ensuring that a special devotion to the Holy Eucharist was fostered among as many people as possible, earning him the title "Apostle of the Abandoned Tabernacles".

This event took place when his ordinary sent him to preach a mission, and upon arriving at the designated church, he found it dirty and neglected. Kneeling before the tabernacle, he felt called to promote Eucharistic love and devotion in his ministry, which began with his appointments as chaplain of the nursing home of the Sisters of the Poor in Seville and parish priest of San Pedro de Huelva. Taking special care of the underprivileged and advancing educational opportunities for young people, he was particularly concerned with the working class, providing food for children whose parents worked as miners. He founded the Disciples of Saint John on March 4, 1910, with the aim of spreading devotion to both the Eucharist and Saint John. The congregation soon spread across Spain and Europe, leading Pope Saint Pius X to take a personal interest in his work and devotion to the Eucharist.

Upon the successor of the aforementioned pontiff, Benedict XV, appointing him as auxiliary for the archdiocese of Málaga on December 6, 1915, Don Manuel received his episcopal consecration with the titular see of Olympus from Cardinal Enrique Almaraz y Santos on January 16 of the following year. He was appointed bishop of Málaga on April 22, 1920, following the passing of Msgr. Juan Muñoz y Herrera, and was later transferred to the diocese of Palencia on August 5, 1935, vacated the previous year following Msgr. Agustín Parrado y García's appointment to Granada. During his tenure, he initiated the Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth and the Disciples of Saint John and the Children of Reparation.

Falling ill while visiting Zaragoza, he was transferred to Madrid for further observation. He passed away there at the age of sixty-two, and his remains were transferred to Palencia and buried at the local cathedral "next to a tabernacle," as he specifically stated in his will, "so that my bones, after death, as my tongue and my pen in life, are saying to those who pass: there is Jesus!". With his cause for canonization introduced in 1952, the Bishop was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 29, 2001, and canonized by Pope Francis on October 16, 2016. His liturgical memory is celebrated on January 4th.

.

Related Post