Jesuit martyrs of Paraguay

Welcome to INSPIRING LIVES, a series on lives of Saints in the catholic church from around the world. You are listening to INSPIRING LIVES, our weekly feature based on the lives of Catholic Saints from around the world. In this series we bring you those saints who are canonized by Pope John Paul II. Saints are holy people who lived ordinary lives in extraordinary ways. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. These saints are examples of great holiness and virtue, and they invite us to follow their paths to holiness. Their unique stories inspire us to be rooted in our faith. God calls each one of us to be a saint.
Today we shall listen to the heroic lives of Saints Rocco Gonzalez, Alphonsus Rodríguez and Juan del Castillo, Martyrs of the Rio Plate. They were canonized on 16 May 1988 at Asunción, Republic of Paraguay.
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During his Apostolic journey in Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay in 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized the Jesuit martyrs of Paraguay. During the solemn liturgical celebration, the Pope paid glorious tribute to them. Let us now listen to what the Pope said in his homily, on Monday 16 May 1988 in Paraguay.
Pope John Paul II welcomed all those who have come to witness the canonization of Father Roque González de Santa Cruz, Alfonso Rodríguez and Juan del Castillo. He introduced the saints saying they were models of evangelization.
Pope’s voice
Beloved brothers and sisters and all of Asunción, Paraguay, today is a day of great celebration for your country and for the whole Church. As the successor of the Apostle Peter, I have the joy to celebrate this Eucharist, to elevate to the altars a son of this beloved city of Asunción, Father Roque González de Santa Cruz - first saint of this beloved Paraguay - and his two brothers Alfonso Rodríguez and Juan del Castillo, born in Spain, the first and second in Zamora in Belmonte, who, for the love of God and men, shed their blood on American soil.
They gave their lives in carrying out the mandate of Christ to proclaim his message ‘to the ends of the earth’. The liberating and salvific power of the Gospel has made life in these three generous Jesuit priests. For the church today, they are models of evangelization. Their unshakable faith in God, nourished at all times by a deep inner life, was the great strength that sustained these pioneers of the Gospel in America. Their zeal for souls led them to do whatever was in their power to serve the poor and needy. All of their commendable work in favor of those populations, so in need of spiritual help and human, all their labors and sufferings, had the sole purpose of transmitting the great treasure of which they were carriers: faith in Jesus Christ, the savior and deliverer, the conqueror of sin and death.
Pope John Paul spoke about their holy lives and their endevour for human development
Pope’s voice
The holy lives of the fathers Roque Gonzalez de Santa Cruz, Alfonso Rodríguez and Juan de Castillo, and in their task of spreading the Christian truth and of human development we recognize the true sign of the apostles whose life is solidly built in imitation of Christ.
Feeling responsible for the need to protect human dignity in that moment in history, Father Roque Gonzalez, Father Alfonso Rodríguez, Father Juan del Castillo, and many other Christians, faced the tremendous challenge posed by the discovery of the so-called new world. Convinced that the Gospel is a message of love and freedom, they endeavored to make known "the truth in Christ Jesus" for all these lands. Heeding the call of the Lord inviting them to make followers of all nations.
In their zeal to win souls to Christ, Father Roque and his brothers traveled all the territories of the Plata to the headwaters of the Parana and Uruguay rivers, to mountain ranges of the Upper Paraguay, facing all kinds of hardships and dangers.
Tireless in preaching, austere with oneself, love for Christ and the natives, they opened new missions and built roads that facilitated the spread of the faith and assurances to a dignified standard of living for their brothers. Itapúa, Santa Ana, Yaguapoá, Concepción, San Nicolás, San Javier, are names of places made history by these saints. There they promoted a development which extended to the "cultural, transcendental and religious dimensions of man and society".
The whole life of Father Roque Gonzalez de Santa Cruz and his fellow martyrs was fully marked by love: love for God and for all men, especially the most needy.

Pope John Paul II then spoke of the great works of these Jesuit fathers, saying what made their works possible was their union with God, as prescribed by St. Ignatius in the constitution of the Society of Jesus.
Pope’s voice
At the same time the work of the Jesuit fathers made it possible for the Guaraní people, moving in a few years from a state of semi-nomadic life to a unique culture, the brainchild of the missionaries and natives.
Thus began a remarkable urban development, agriculture and livestock. The natives were educated in farming practice and animal husbandry. Studies and the arts flourished, of which still remains the many monuments of testimony. Churches and schools, homes for widows and orphans, hospitals, Guaraní cemeteries, mills, barns and other civil works and services . Rose in a few years more than thirty villages and towns throughout your land and also in neighboring regions.
They sailed and explored the great rivers. They carried out geographic and scientific discoveries and gained to civilization and faith vast territories. With the wisdom that gives life in Christ and moved only by the values of the Gospel, Father Gonzalez de Santa Cruz was able to gain the respect and consideration of both the indigenous and the Europeans.
The immense work of these men, all this work of evangelization of the Guaraní villages was possible thanks to their union with God. Saint Roque and his companions followed the example of St. Ignatius codified in its constitution: "The means which unite the instrument to God and have to be guided by his divine hand are more effective than those who turn toward men.The Pope then spoke of the greater love of the disciples of Jesus, saying the martyred fathers had truly understood the message. He said:Pope’s voice
St. John says in the gospel: "No one has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends" Father Gonzalez and his fellow martyrs had certainly understood and experienced this teaching. For this they were able to leave the peaceful life of the family home, to show the greatness of God and brothers. Neither the obstacles of a wild nature or lack of understanding of the men nor the attacks that came from those who saw in their evangelizing a danger to their interests, were able to intimidate these champions of the faith. Their enthusiasm led them to martyrdom without reservation. A gruesome death ever tried with arrogant gestures of defiance. They accepted martyrdom because of their love, ennobled by a strong faith and indomitable hope even in the face could not succumb to the blows of their executioners.
The uncorrupted heart of Father Gonzalez is a vivid image of Christian love which can overcome all human limitations.

At the end of his homily, Pope John Paul exhorted the people to imitate the example of the saints. He said:
voice of Pope
Today, the day of his canonization, Father Roque Gonzalez de Santa Cruz is present in a special way among you. He is not only a Paraguayan but a son of your city of Asunción, pastor of your Cathedral, the Jesuit example, much loved by your people. He comes back again:
- To urge you to keep living your faith, that faith in Christ that the new saints gave you through their lives and made fertile with their blood;
- To encourage you to make this faith truly operational. Let your love towards God bear fruit, love of your neighbor can pull down all the barriers of division and create a feeling of true solidarity and charity in Paraguay of our day;
- To invite you to be faithful to the authentic cultural traditions of your people and your land, impregnated with the sense of genuine Christian piety;
- To give you an example of love for the Virgin Mary, who will guide you in your life as he led the steps of Saint Gonzalez in his apostolic pilgrimage among you.
Catholics from all over the Paraguay Asuncion, he is the first saint of your country. He was here among you as a token of his love without limits.P.J. Joseph SJ