Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz
Roman Catholic Church | |
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Orders | |
Ordination | 3 June 1882 |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | 1 October 1948 Lisbon, Second Portuguese Republic | (aged 89)
Buried | Benfica Cemetery |
Residence | Caldas Palace (from 1927) |
Alma mater | University of Coimbra |
Signature |
Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz,
Cruz expressed a desire to enter the
Cruz was the first priest to openly preach devotion to Our Lady of Fátima, at a time when most of the Portuguese clergy was still uneasy to show any sentiments favourable to the apparitions;[2] this was before the Bishop of Leiria, José Alves Correia da Silva, recognised them as worthy of belief in 1930.
The cause for his
Early life
Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz was born in Alcochete at 10 p.m. on 29 July 1859, the fourth[3] son of Manuel da Cruz and Catarina Maria de Oliveira. Due to the apparent frailty of the newborn and fearing imminent death, Francisco had an emergency baptism at home, by the parish coadjutor Francisco Gomes da Rosa.[4] The baptismal rites were only concluded on the next 25 February, in the Parish Church of Saint John the Baptist, when Manuel Teixeira Salgueiro anointed him with the oil of catechumens and pronounced the exorcism.[4]
Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz was born less than a week before the death of John Vianney;[1] some parallels between the two have been drawn by some authors.[5]
After concluding his secondary education in Lisbon, as he had expressed an interest in becoming a priest, his father sent him at age 16 to attend the Faculty of Theology of the University of Coimbra; he concluded his licentiate degree in 1880, aged 21. Shortly afterwards, the Cardinal-Patriarch Inácio do Nascimento de Morais Cardoso had him teaching philosophy in the Patriarchal Seminary in Santarém; he was ordained on 3 June 1882.[6]
A nervous breakdown prevented him from continuing to teach. In 1886 he was invited instead to direct the College of Saint Cajetan (Colégio de São Caetano), an orphan school in Braga; for similar reasons he asked to be replaced in this position by the Salesian Fathers in 1894. From then until 1903, he acted as spiritual director of the minor seminary in Lisbon, in the Monastery of St. Vincent Outside the Walls.[6]
Apostle of Charity
Cruz had a reputation for sanctity from a young age: an 1894 letter from his successor as Director of the College of Saint Cajetan, Pietro Cogliolo, to Michele Rua described Cruz as being "of such virtue that people in Braga call him 'the Blessed Father'."[6] Msgr. António Paulo Marques relates that as early as 1909, people took small pieces of cloth from his cassock and kept them as relics.[6]
With a missionary zeal for the salvation of souls, Cruz became famous for tirelessly travelling from parish to parish throughout Portugal, at the invitation of the local
Among his diocesan responsibilities, he was entrusted with the preparation of the Cardinal-Patriarch's pastoral visits; for this reason he earned the moniker of "
Cruz is credited with the conversions of notable people in Portuguese society, such as the philosopher Leonardo Coimbra (1883–1936), Councillor Luís de Magalhães (1859–1935), and leading syndicalist activist Manuel Ribeiro (1878–1941).[6]
Cruz was in
In 1942, at age 83, he visited Madeira and the Azores at the request of the respective ordinaries.[6]
In August 1947, at age 88, he was still travelling across Portugal in his apostolic mission. In December of that year, he fell gravely ill with bronchopneumonia and was bedridden for almost a year; he finally died on 1 October 1948 of a myocardial infarction, clutching a holy card of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the large rosary he always carried around.[6] His funeral was held at Lisbon Cathedral, presided by Cardinal-Patriarch Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira, who said in his sermon: "The blessed Father Cruz will remain one of the purest glories of our patriarchate. The clergy of Lisbon will always venerate him as a striking example of an apostolate worker, of a priest totally consecrated to the glory of God and the salvation of souls. In him they will find a model and an advocate."[7]
Cruz was interred in the Cemitery of
References
- ^ a b c "Causa de Canonização do Padre Cruz: Biografia". Ponto SJ (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- OCLC 40630767. (Online Text)
- ^ a b "Lisboa: Processo diocesano para a beatificação do Padre Cruz encerra-se a 17 de dezembro" [Lisbon: Diocesan process for the beatification of Father Cruz closes on 17 December]. Agência Ecclesia (in Portuguese). 19 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ a b Livro de Registo de Baptismos 1860/1865 (fl. 7–7v.), Paróquia de São João Baptista, Alcochete - Arquivo Distrital de Setúbal
- ISBN 978-972-30-0268-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pe. António Reis S.J., ed. (January–March 2014). "Quem era o Padre Cruz" (PDF). Graças do Padre Cruz SJ (in Portuguese). LXVI (339). Portuguese Province of the Society of Jesus: 9–23. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ a b "October 1st: Servant of God Francis Rodrigues da Cruz, SJ". The Jesuits Prayer Ministry Singapore. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ Reis, Catarina (29 July 2019). "O padre que todos os anos leva o país e os seus emigrantes até Benfica" [The priest that each year brings the whole country and its emigrants to Benfica]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 November 2020.