Saint Matthieu Correa, prêtre et martyr
Mateo Correa Magallanes nait au Mexique le 23 juillet 1866. Devenu prêtre, il fait faire sa première communion au futur martyr Miguel Augustin Pro. Lors de la persécution mexicaine contre la foi, il est arrêté. Après avoir été autorisé à confesser ses codétenus, il est sommé de révéler ce qu’il a entendu, ce qu’il refuse de faire, évidemment. Il est alors fusillé le 6 février 1927 à Durango.
Saint Matthieu Correa
Prêtre et martyr au Mexique (+ 1927)
Mateo Correa Magallanes, né le 23 juillet 1866 à Tepechitlán, Zacatecas, prêtre de Valparaiso. Il a donné sa première communion à Miguel Augustin Pro qui allait être plus tard jésuite et martyr. Lorsqu'il est arrêté, le général lui demande d'entendre en confession des co détenus révolutionnaires, ce qu'il fit mais quand le général lui demanda de révéler ce qui lui avait été dit il refusa: un prêtre doit garder le secret de la confession, je suis prêt à mourir. Il fut fusillé le 6 février 1927.
Canonisé le 21 mai 2000 - Homélie de Jean-Paul II pour la canonisation de 27 saints.
À Durango au Mexique, en 1927, saint Matthieu Correa, prêtre et martyr. Quand sévit la persécution contre l’Église, sommé de révéler des secrets entendus en confession, il refusa et fut pour cela fusillé devant le cimetière.
Martyrologe romain
Saint Matthieu CORREA MAGALLANES
Nom: CORREA MAGALLANES
Prénom: Matthieu (Mateo)
Pays: Mexique
Naissance: 23.07.1866 à Tepechitlan (Zacalecas –
Diocèse de Zacalecas)
Mort: 06.02.1927 à Durango
Etat: Prêtre - Martyr du Groupe des 25 martyrs du Mexique (1915-1937) 2
Note: Prêtre le 20.08.1893. Curé de Conception de Oro de 1898 à 1905, puis de Colotlan de 1908 à 1910. Puis dans la clandestinité. Curé de Valparaiso (Zacalecas – Diocèse de Zacalecas) en 1926. Persécuté et emprisonné plusieurs fois. Il refuse de livrer les confessions des prisonniers qui s'étaient confiés à lui. Il est fusillé.
Béatification: 22.11.1992 à Rome par Jean
Paul II
Canonisation: 21.05.2000 à Rome par Jean
Paul II
Fête: 21 mai
Réf. dans l’Osservatore Romano: 1992 n.48
- 2000 n.22 p.5-7
Réf. dans la Documentation Catholique: 1993
n.1 p.49
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/hagiographie/fiches/f0653.htm
ST. MATEO CORREA MAGALLANES
Conseil 2140 des Chevaliers de Colomb
Zacatecas, México
Mateo Correa Magallanes naît à Tepechitlan, Zacatecas,
le 23 juillet 1866. Bien que ses ressources économiques soient
limitées, il entreprend ses études élémentaires à Jerez, Zacatecas, et les
termine en 1879 à Guadalajara, Jalisco, grâce à la générosité de
bienfaiteurs. Il quitte la capitale du Jalisco en janvier 1881 pour
s’inscrire au séminaire conciliaire de Zacatecas.
Ordonné prêtre le 20 août 1893, il officie
dans de nombreux endroits : à la hacienda de Mezquite ; à la hacienda
de Trujillo ; comme aumônier de San Miguel, à Valparaiso, Zacatecas ;
comme vicaire assistant au même endroit ; et comme aumônier à Mazapil,
Zacatecas. Il officie comme curé des paroisses de Concepcion del Oro,
Zacatecas ; Colotlan, Jalisco ; Noria de los Angeles,
Zacatecas ; Huejucar, Jalisco ; Guadalupe, Zacatecas ; et
Tlaltenango, Zacatecas. En 1923, il revient à Colotlan, où il est
également vice-recteur du séminaire conciliaire.
Prêtre bien connu, il se consacre à son ministère avec
enthousiasme. Il est également un prédicateur remarquable, et ses mots incitent
de nombreuses personnes à se livrer au sacrement de la confession. Son
enthousiasme mène à la croissance des comités de l’Association catholique de la
jeunesse mexicaine (ACJM) dans cette région.
Surchargé de travail et ayant besoin d’un refuge, il
accepte de rester dans une maison dans la campagne en décembre 1926. Le
30 janvier suivant, le père Correa est arrêté par un groupe de
soldats de l’armée fédérale sous les ordres de Jose Contreras, sur la base
d’une accusation de Jose Encarnación Salas. Emmené à Fresnillo, Zacatecas, il
est détenu au poste de police puis dans la prison municipale. Quatre jours
après il est envoyé à Durango.
Le 5 février, le père Correa est emprisonné
au séminaire conciliaire, qui a été transformé en quartier général militaire.
Quelques heures plus tard il comparaît devant le Général Eulogio Ortiz, qui lui
ordonne d’entendre les confessions des rebelles condamnés à mort. Après avoir
respecté l’ordre et encouragé les condamnés à mourir honorablement, le général
lui ordonne de violer le secret sacramentel et de révéler ce qui lui fut
divulgué durant les confessions. “« Jamais je ne ferai cela », répond
le prêtre. Lorsque le général en colère menace de le tuer, le père
Correa répond : « Vous pouvez faire cela, mais vous ignorez le
fait, général, qu’un prêtre doit garder le secret de la confession. Je suis
prêt à mourir. »”
Le lendemain à l’aube, le 6 février, un groupe de
soldats l’emmène au cimetière de l’Est. Avant même d’y entrer, un endroit
solitaire recouvert d’herbe, le prêtre est tué par une rafale de balles. Les
soldats abandonnent son corps, qui y resta trois jours sans enterrement.
Aujourd’hui, ses reliques sont conservées dans la cathédrale de Durango.
Inspiré par Canonización de Veintisiete Santos
Mexicanos
SOURCE : http://www.kofc.org/fr/mexican-martyrs/st-mateo.html
HISTORY OF THE
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MEXICAN MARTYRS
Portrait of the
Mexican Martyrs at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven.
The 1920s brought a revolution to Mexico, along with
the widespread persecution of Catholics.
Missionaries were expelled from the country, Catholic
seminaries and schools were closed, and the Church was forbidden to own
property. Priests and laymen were told to denounce Jesus and their faith in
public; if they refused, they faced not just punishment but torture and death.
During this time of oppression and cruelty, the
Knights of Columbus did not retreat in Mexico but grew dramatically, from 400
members in 1918 to 43 councils and 6,000 members just five years later. In the
United States at the time, the Knights handed out five million pamphlets that
described the brutality of the Mexican government toward Catholics. As a
result, the Mexican government greatly feared and eventually outlawed the
Order.
Thousands of men, many of whom were Knights, would not
bow to these threats or renounce their faith, and they often paid with their
lives. They took a stand when that was the most difficult thing they could do,
and their courage and devotion have echoed down through the decades.
Here are some of
the stories of the Knights of Columbus who joined the ranks of the Mexican
Martyrs and were among the 25 victims of religious persecution canonized in
2000 by Pope John Paul II.
FATHER MIGUEL DE LA MORA DE LA MORA
Father Miguel de la Mora de la Mora of Colima belonged
to Council 2140. Along with several other priests, he publicly signed a letter
opposing the anti-religious laws imposed by the government. He was soon
arrested and, with his brother Regino looking on, Father de la Mora was
executed without a trial by a single shot from a military officer as he prayed
his rosary. It was Aug. 7, 1927.
FATHER PEDRO DE JESUS MALDONADO LUCERO
Father Pedro de
Jesus Maldonado Lucero was a member of Council 2419. Forced
to study for the priesthood in El Paso, Texas, because of the political
situation in Mexico, he returned home after his ordination in 1918 despite the
risk. Captured on Ash Wednesday, 1937, while distributing ashes to the
faithful, Father Maldonado Lucero was so savagely beaten that one eye was
forced from its socket. He died the next day at a local hospital. His tombstone aptly described this martyr in four
words: "You are a priest."
FATHER JOSE MARIA ROBLES HURTADO
Father Jose Maria
Robles Hurtado was a member of Council 1979. Ordained in 1913,
he founded the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Guadalajara when he was
only 25. On June 25, 1927, he was arrested while preparing to celebrate Mass.
Early the next morning, he was hanged from an oak tree, but not before he had
forgiven his murderers and offered a prayer for his parish. He went so far as to place the rope around his own
neck, so that none of his captors would hold the title of murderer.
FATHER RODRIGO AGUILAR ALEMÁN
Father Rodrigo
Aguilar Alemán of Union de Tula in Jalisco was a member of Council 2330. After
a warrant was issued for is arrest, he took refuge a the Colegio de San Ignacio
in Ejutla, celebrating Mass and administering the sacraments.
Rather than escape when soldiers arrived, Father
Aguilar Alemán remained at the seminary to burn the list of seminary students,
and thus protect them from being known. When the soldiers demanded his identity,
he told them only that he was a priest.
He was taken to the main square of Ejutla, where the
seminary was located. He publicly forgave his killers, and then a soldier gave
him the chance to save himself by giving the “right” answer to this question,
“Who lives?”
But he replied, “Christ the King and Our Lady of
Guadalupe.” The noose that had been secured to a mango tree was tightened, then
relaxed twice. Each time it was relaxed, he was asked the same question and
each time he gave the same response. The third time the noose was tightened, he died.
FATHER LUIS BATIZ
SAINZ
Father Luis Batiz
Sainz was born in 1870, and was a member of Council 2367. On
Aug. 15, 1926, at Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, he and three layman – David Roldan,
who was only 19 at the time, Salvador Lara and Manuel Morales – were put before
a firing squad for refusing to submit to anti-religious laws. When Father Batiz
Sainz asked the soldiers to free one of the captives, Manuel Morales, who had
sons and daughters, Morales wouldn’t hear of it.
“I am dying for God," he declared,” and God
will care for my children.” Smiling,
Father Batiz Sainz gave his friend absolution and said: “See you in heaven.”
FATHER MATEO CORREA MAGALLANES
Father Mateo Correa Magallanes, who was a member of
Council 2140, was arrested and taken to Durango. While in prison, he was
ordered by the commanding officer on Feb. 5, 1927, to hear the confessions of
his fellow prisoners. Then the commander demanded to know what they had told
him. Of course, Father Correa Magallanes wouldn't violate the seal of
confession, and so, the next day, he was taken to a local cemetery and executed
by the soldiers.
|
Saint Mateo Correa Magallanes (1866-1927) |
Saint Mateo Correa Magallanes was born in Tepechitlán, Zacatecas, Mexico in the diocese of Zacatecas on July 23, 1866. Father Correa Magallanes, a members of Knights of Columbus Council 2140, was a parish priest of Valparaiso, Zacatecas.
Father Mateo faithfully fulfilled his priestly duties: to evangelize, to serve the poorest of the poor, to obey his bishop, to unite himself to Christ, the Priest and the Victim – even becoming a martyr rather than breaking the seal of confession. Father Mateo was constantly harassed and was arrested several times – the last time while he was visiting the sick. They kept him several days in Fresnillo, Zacatecas before moving him to Durango. There the general asked him to hear the confessions of the prisoners. Later he demanded, under the threat of death, that Father Mateo reveal to him what had been confessed Father Correa responded with dignity, “You can do whatever you want, but do not forget that a priest must keep the secret of the confessional. I am prepared to die.” He was shot in a cemetery at the outskirts of Durango, on February 6, 1927. It was thus that this self-sacrificing and kind parish priest entered on his true life.
SOURCE : http://home.catholicweb.com/kofc581/index.cfm/NewsItem?ID=231132&From=Home
ST. MATEO CORREA MAGALLANES
Knights of Columbus Council 2140
Zacatecas, México
Mateo Correa Magallanes was born in Tepechitlan,
Zacatecas, on July 23, 1866. Although he had scarce economic resources, he
began his elementary school studies in Jerez, Zacatecas, and concluded them in
1879 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, thanks to the generosity of benefactors. He left
the capital of Jalisco in January 1881 to enroll in the conciliar seminary of
Zacatecas.
Ordained as a priest on Aug. 20, 1893, he served in
many places: at the Hacienda of Mezquite; at the Hacienda of Trujillo; as
chaplain of San Miguel, in Valparaiso, Zacatecas; as assistant vicar in the
same place; and as chaplain of Mazapil, Zacatecas. He served as parish priest
in Concepcion del Oro, Zacatecas; Colotlan, Jalisco; Noria de los Angeles,
Zacatecas; Huejucar, Jalisco; Guadalupe, Zacatecas; and Tlaltenango, Zacatecas.
In 1923, he returned to Colotlan where he was also vice-rector of the conciliar
seminary.
A well-known priest, he dedicated himself to his
ministry with enthusiasm. He was also a notable preacher, moving many to the
sacrament of confession with his words. His enthusiasm led to the growth of the
committees of the Catholic Association of Mexican Youth (ACJM in Spanish) in
that region.
Overworked and needing refuge, he agreed to stay in a
house in the country in December 1926. The following January 30, Father
Correa was arrested by a group of federal army soldiers, under the orders
of Jose Contreras and based on an accusation by Jose Encarnacion Salas. Taken
to Fresnillo, Zacatecas, he was held at the police station and later in the
municipal jail. Four days later, he was sent to Durango.
On February 5, Father Correa was jailed at the
conciliar seminary which had been transformed into a military headquarters.
Hours later, he appeared before General Eulogio Ortiz who ordered him to hear
the confessions of rebels who were sentenced to die. After complying with the
order and encouraging the condemned men to die honorably, the general ordered
him to violate the sacramental seal and reveal matters that were divulged
during the confessions. “I will never do that,” was the priest’s response. When
the infuriated general threatened to shoot him, Father Correa responded
“You may do so, but you ignore the fact, General, that a priest must keep the
secret of confession. I am ready to die.”
At dawn the next day, February 6, a group of soldiers
took him to the eastern graveyard. Before entering, in a lonely spot covered with
grass, the priest was killed in a hail of bullets. The soldiers abandoned his
body, which remained there for three days without burial. Today his relics are
kept in the Cathedral of Durango.
Based on Canonización de Veintisiete Santos
Mexicanos
SOURCE : http://www.kofc.org/en/mexican-martyrs/st-mateo.html
Saint Mateo Correa Magallanes (also known as Mateo
Correa, Fr. Correa; 23 July 1866 – 6 February 1927) was a Knight of Columbus,
of Council 2140.
Correa was born at Tepechitlán, Zacatecas, Mexico. He
attended the seminary at Zacatecas on a scholarship, in 1881. He was ordained
as priest in 1893 at the age of 27. As a young priest, he gave first communion
to Miguel Pro who also became a priest and was later martyred. Fr. Correa was
assigned as a parish priest to Concepción del Oro in 1898, and then to Colotlán
in 1908. Following the government’s repression of the Catholic Church in 1910,
he went into hiding. He was assigned to Valparaíso in 1926.
In 1927, during the government’s continuing
persecution of the Church, Fr. Correa was arrested by soldiers as he was
bringing Viaticum to a woman invalid. Accused of being part of the armed
Cristero defense, he was jailed in Zacatecas, and then in Durango. On 5
February 1927, Fr. Correa was asked by General Eulogio Ortiz, to hear the
confessions of some imprisoned members of the Cristeros, an uprising of
Catholic men who decided to fight back against the persecution of the Church
led by Mexico’s president Plutarco Elias Calles. Father Correa agreed to
administer the Sacrament of Confession to these prisoners, but afterward
General Ortiz demanded to know what the condemned prisoners had confessed. Fr.
Correa refused. General Ortiz then pointed a gun at Fr. Correa’s head and
threatened him with immediate death. Fr. Correa continued to refuse, and at
dawn on February 6, 1927, he was taken to the cemetery on the outskirts of
Durango and shot through the head.
CORREA MAGALLANES, MATEO, ST.
Martyr, pastor; b. July 22 or 23, 1866, Tepechitlán,
Zacatecas, Diocese of Zacatecas, Mexico; d. Feb. 6, 1927, Durango, Jalisco,
Diocese of Zacatecas. Fr. Correa was ministering in the parish at Valparaíso,
Zacatecas, during the persecution, where he administered First Communion to
another future martyr, (Bl.) Miguel Agustin pro. Correa faithfully executed his
sacerdotal duties, including evangelizing and serving the poor. He was
continually harassed by the authorities, arrested and released. The last time
he was administering the last rites. He was detained for several days at
Fresnillo, Zacatecas, then taken to Durango. There General Eulogio Ortiz asked
him to hear the confessions of some prisoners. Later he asked the priest to
reveal the content of those confessions or be killed. When he refused, he was
martyred outside Durango, where his relics are enshrined in the cathedral in
the Chapel of Saint
George the Martyr. He was both beatified (Nov. 22, 1992) and canonized
(May 21, 2000) with Cristobal magallanes [see mexico, martyrs of, ss.] by
Pope John
Paul II.
Feast: May 25 (Mexico).
Bibliography: J. Cardoso, Los mártires
mexicanos (Mexico
City 1953). J. Diaz Estrella, El movimiento cristero: sociedad y
conflicto en los Altos de Jalisco (México, D.F. 1979). V. Garcia Juàrez, Los cristeros (Fresnillo, Zac. 1990).
[K. I. Rabenstein]
San Matteo Correa Magallanes Sacerdote e
martire
>>>
Visualizza la Scheda del Gruppo cui appartiene
Nacque a Tepechitlán, Zacatecas (Diocesi di Zacatecas)
il 23 luglio 1866. Parroco di Valparaiso, Zacatecas, (Diocesi di Zacatecas). Il
padre Mateo svolse fedelmente tutti gli incarichi sacerdotali: vangelizzare e
servire i poveri, ubbidire al suo Vescovo, unirsi a Cristo Sacerdote e Vittima,
specialmente convertendosi in martire a causa del sigillo sacerdotale. Lo
tennero in carcere alcuni giorni a Fresnillo, Zacatecas, quindi venne condotto
a Durango. Il generale gli chiese di confessare alcuni prigionieri, e di
riferire poi ciò che aveva appreso in confessione, altrimenti lo avrebbe
ucciso. Il Signor Parroco Correa rispose con dignita: "Lei può farlo, ma
non sa che un sacerdote deve saper conservare il segreto della confessione.
Sono disposto a morire". Fu fucilato in un campo, nei dintorni della citta
di Durango, il 6 febbraio 1927 e così quel parroco mite e pronto al sacrificio
iniziò la sua vera vita.
Etimologia: Matteo = uomo di Dio, dall'ebraico
Emblema: Palma
Martirologio Romano: Nella città di Durango in
Messico, san Matteo Correa, sacerdote e martire, che, mentre infuriava la
persecuzione contro la Chiesa, si rifiutò di ottemperare all’ordine di violare
il segreto della confessione, ricevendo per questo la corona del martirio.
Mateo Correa Magallanes nasce nel 1866 in Messico, in una famiglia povera, così povera che non potrebbe mai permettersi il lusso di farlo studiare. E lui, che invece vuole diventare prete, va a lavorare nella portineria del seminario per guadagnare quanto basta per andare a scuola. Per capacità, merito e buona condotta vince poi una borsa di studio, che gli permette di continuare a studiare senza dover anche lavorare. Viene ordinato prete a 26 anni e subito lo aspetta un intenso lavoro pastorale in varie parrocchie. La persecuzione contro i cattolici lo sorprende mentre è a Valparaíso, una parrocchia vivace in cui l’Azione Cattolica sta diffondendo e raccogliendo adesioni al “Manifesto” con cui si chiede al Governo l’abrogazione delle leggi anticlericali in vigore. La situazione deve essere troppo effervescente e l’iniziativa cattolica deve raccogliere troppi consensi, se a livello centrale si decide di mandare a Valparaíso il generale Eulogio Ortíz, non a caso soprannominato “El Cruel” (= il Crudele). Come a dire:a mali estremi, estremi rimedi. In pochi giorni Ortiz riesce a dimostrare quanto gli sia appropriato quel soprannome e dispiega tutta la sua azione repressiva, soprattutto nei confronti dei giovani cattolici. Riesce anche ad arrestare e a mandare sotto processo Padre Matteo e il suo collaboratore, insieme ad alcuni giovani, ritenuti i rappresentanti delle associazioni cattoliche locali, ma il giudice li assolve “perché il fatto non sussiste”. Quelli vengono accolti in parrocchia come trionfatori, mentre il generale se lo lega al dito, come un affronto personale di cui prima o poi vuole vendicarsi. Il suo livore è soprattutto nei confronti di Padre Matteo, che sta utilizzando il periodo a lui favorevole per rianimare e rafforzare i suoi cristiani, in attesa della nuova ondata di persecuzioni che, lui sente, non tarderà di certo. Il 30 gennaio 1927, mentre sta andando a portare gli ultimi sacramenti ad una malata accompagnato dal figlio di questa, incrocia una pattuglia di militari: riconosciuto da uno di loro e immediatamente arrestato, ha appena il tempo di consegnare ad una persona fidata la sua teca con l’ostia consacrata. Per strada gli riesce perfino di familiarizzare con i soldati e la serata finisce con la recita del rosario, guidato da lui ed al quale essi rispondono in coro. La musica, però, cambia il giorno dopo, quando è davanti al generale Ortíz, al quale non sembra vero di aver messo le mani su colui che è la sua spina nel fianco: “El Cruel” non può dimenticare lo smacco subito per colpa di quel prete, che in parrocchia è venerato come un santo e di cui la gente si fida ciecamente. Ormai gli è chiaro che è per colpa di Padre Matteo se a Valparaíso la politica anticlericale del governo non riesce ad attecchire e se le associazioni cattoliche stanno così spavaldamente alzando la testa: tutti stanno prendendo esempio da quel prete, dalla fede salda e dal coraggio inossidabile, coerente e limpido, che riesce a catalizzare tutta la parrocchia e ad infiammare i cuori. Con la perfidia che gli è propria e che si addice alla sua fama di “cruel”, ordina a Padre Matteo di andare a confessare in cella i “banditi” che il giorno dopo saranno fucilati e di venirgli poi a riferire quanto da essi saputo in confessione. I “banditi” altro non sono che “cristeros”: messicani, cioè, che anche attraverso la lotta armata rivendicano il diritto di professare liberamente la loro fede, opponendosi all’azione anticlericale del governo, e per questo condannati a morte. “El Cruel” spera così di ottenere informazioni utili per arrestare altre persone e smantellare la rivolta dei cattolici, ma forse ha sottovalutato il coraggio di Padre Matteo. Che, sacerdote fino in fondo, va subito a confessare e a preparare alla morte quei poveri condannati, ma al ritorno, si rifiuta ovviamente di riferire quanto ascoltato in confessione. La furia del generale Ortíz, che si sente beffato, esplode violenta. Minacciato di morte, Padre Matteo risponde con fermezza: “Lei può anche uccidermi, ma il mio generale non sa che un prete è obbligato a conservare il segreto della confessione”. E così il mattino del giorno dopo, 6 febbraio, lo fa giustiziare con la propria pistola d’ordinanza nei pressi del cimitero, regalando alla Chiesa un nuovo martire della Confessione, beatificato da Giovanni Paolo II nel 1992 e canonizzato dallo stesso papa il 21 maggio 2000.
Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti
