Bl. Ceferino Namuncura

Just to show that sanctity does not discriminate on the basis of race, place of origin - or even age, our story today regards a youth from Argentina.

Bl. Ceferino Namuncura was born in the Rio Negro Province of Argentina in 1886. His father was the last great leader of the Araucane Indian tribe. Ceferino was baptized at the age of eight by a Salesian Missionary priest. His father sent him to study in Buenos Aires so that he could be prepared to "be useful to his people." He started studying at the National Workshops of the Navy as a carpenter's apprentice. As the only native Indian at the school, the boy found himself mistreated by the other students and was soon ill and unhappy. He wrote to his father of his unhappiness, and so was then sent to study with the Salesians at the Colegio Pío IX, a technical academy. Here he enjoyed his studies and sports and was an excellent student and musician.

When he finished his studies, his father wanted him to return home to serve as a secretary and interpreter. But the years at the Salesian school had deepened his spiritual life and given him a desire to become a Salesian Priest. He entered the seminary and, despite his already frail health, traveled to Italy in 1904 to continue his education there. He became increasingly ill during the Italian winter and was taken to Rome, where he finally succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis on May 11, 1905. His remains were returned to Argentina in 1924. Devotion to the saintly young man,  known popularly as The Lily of Patagonia, is extensive throughout Argentina. His feast day is August 26 (the date of his birth rather than his death as is the usual custom).