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Today’s missionary hero is a most remarkable man who lived in the 17th Century. His name was Peter.
Peter de Betancur was born on March 21, around 1626 in Vilaflor on Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, as one of five children of a poor family.
As a child, Peter worked as a shepherd, caring for his family’s small flock of sheep. He also loved to spend time praying in the solitude of a small cave.
In 1638, a moneylender demanded Peter’s father to pay the family debt. Unfortunately, because the family was too poor to pay their debt, Peter was indentured to the moneylender.
When he was 23 years old, Peter became free from his service to the moneylender, and he decided to leave the Canary Islands and sail to Guatemala. There, he hoped to connect with a relative who worked for the government.
By the time Peter reached Havana, Cuba, however, he had no more money. Destitute, he worked for a year for a priest who was also from Tenerife. After the year was over, Peter paid for passage to Honduras by working as a crewmember of the ship. From Honduras, he walked to Guatemala.
When he got to Guatemala City, poor Peter was destitute, and he found himself in a bread line sponsored by Franciscans.
Before long, Peter entered a Jesuit college to study for the priesthood. Unfortunately, probably because of a lack of a solid education in his formative years, Peter could not master the material and had to leave. He decided that God wanted him to serve him in the lay state, and in 1655, Peter became a lay Franciscan in Antigua, Guatemala. There, he took the name Peter of St. Joseph as his lay Franciscan name.
God showered many blessings on Peter, including energy, focused vision, and good administrative skills. Peter took these gifts and developed them.
First, he devoted himself to the destitute of society – prisoners, the sick, the unemployed, and youth. In 1658, someone gave Peter a hut which he converted into a hospital for the poor who needed post-hospital care. There, he nursed them with love, compassion, and sensitivity. Soon, people began to hear about and admire his devotion to nursing. As a result, powerful people such as the bishop and governor began to support his efforts.
Within three years after turning his hut into a little hospital, benefactors provided Peter with land and workers to build him a larger hospital, thoroughly stocked and equipped. Now, he could nurse to his heart’s content. Before long, Peter added a homeless shelter, school for the poor, and an inn for priests. Peter put his work under the patronage of Our Lady of Bethlehem.
Like all good leaders, Peter attracted others to himself. Before he knew it, he had other Franciscan tertiaries that wanted to help him with his nursing and related work. He taught them nursing theory and skills so they could assist in the hospital. But soon, he created a Rule for the group based on the Rule of St. Augustine. Eventually, this group became a religious order called the Bethlehemites, whose primary purpose was to serve the sick as nurses and related health care providers. In time, the Bethlehemites served in two other city hospitals.
Some women also adopted this rule and devoted themselves to teaching poor children.
Though Peter’s first concern was nursing the sick, he also had a great love for prisoners and visited them frequently. Often at night, he would wander the streets ringing a bell to remind people to pray, especially for the dead.
Peter died on April 25, 1667 in Antigua, Guatemala.
Pope St. John Paul II canonized Peter in Guatemala City on July 30, 2002.
St. Peter of St. Joseph de Betancur has the honor of being the first saint of the Canary Islands, the first saint of Guatemala, and the first saint of Central America.
During his life, Peter was known as a miracle worker, frequently healing the sick almost immediately. Not surprisingly, miracles are continually being reported at his tomb and in the cave on Tenerife where he liked to spend time as a youth.
Many historians credit St. Peter as taking the pre-Christmas posadas custom to Central American nations as well as to Mexico in North America. The posadas custom is a nine-day celebration that runs from December 16-24, and it celebrates Joseph and Mary’s searching for a posada – or inn – in Bethlehem.
St. Peter of St. Joseph de Betancur is a patron saint of Guatemala, Guatemalan catechists, the Canary Islands, all of Central America, the homeless, and he is an honorary mayor of various towns of Guatemala and the Canary Islands.
