St. Pedro de San Jose Betancur

 As many of you know, I like to travel the world and highlight the universality of the communion of Saints, so for the letter 'P' today we will be traveling from the Canary Islands to Central America. St. Pedro de San Jose Betancur is the first Saint native to the Canary Islands. He was born on the island of Tenerife in 1626 and worked as a shepherd as a small child. When his father's estates were seized by a moneylender in 1638, Pedro went into indentured servitude. During this period, his brother migrated to Spain's colonies in the New World.

When he was freed from his period of service at the age of 23, he decided to follow his brother's example and sailed for Guatemala. By the time he had reached Havana, Cuba, he was out of money. He spent a year serving a priest there and had to work for his passage from that point on. In Guatemala, he eventually found his uncle who found him a job in a textile factory. 

In 1653, he entered a Jesuit college to study for the priesthood, but he could not master the material. He withdrew after three years. Unable to receive Holy Orders, he instead became a Franciscan tertiary, taking the religious name Peter of Saint Joseph (Pedro de San Jose). He visited hospitals, jails, the unemployed and worked with the young. He was given a hut which he converted into a hospital for the poor. His enthusiasm inspired others and he found benefactors who helped him build a hospital where he could do his work better. He placed the hospital under the patronage of Our Lady of Bethlehem. This then led to the founding of the Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem or the Bethlemitas. 

Pedro is credited with introducing to the Americas the Christmas Eve posadas tradition. In the posadas, people representing Mary and Joseph process through town seeking lodging from their neighbors. This custom has spread to Mexico and other Central American countries -- as well as to my family. My sister read about the posadas when we were young and so, as children, we would hold a posadas procession through our house on Christmas Eve with family members in various rooms telling Mary and Joseph that there was no room at the inn. 

Exhausted by his labor and penance, Pedro died on April 25, 1667 at the age of 41. His feast day is April 25 and he is patron of the homeless, those who serve the sick and many of the places where he lived and served.