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Rafael Guízar y Valencia
Catholic bishop and saint (1878–1938)
SaintResearchedMexicoPost-1588
Feast: 6 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
26 April 1878
verified
Died
1938
verified
Beatified
29 January 1995
by John Paul II
Canonised
15 October 2006
by Benedict XVI
Who they were
Rafael Guízar Valencia was born at Cotija, Michoacán, Mexico, on 26 April 1878, one of eleven children of fervent Christians; his mother died when he was nine. He studied at the parish school and with the Jesuits.
As Bishop of Veracruz in a time of persecution, though exiled and in hiding, he carried out his episcopal ministry with courage.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A bishop who kept shepherding his people in hiding during persecution.
Sources
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Rafael Guízar Valencia
- Wikidata Q1339715 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Rafael Guízar y Valencia (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.