Saint Who?
Saints Who Fostered Vocations to the Priesthood
Blessed Ignatius de Azevedo
Priest and martyr († 1570)July 17
Ignatius de Azevedo was born to Portuguese nobles around 1526. He became the administrator of his father’s extensive estates at eighteen. But he renounced his worldly prospects after hearing the preaching of Jesuit Father Francisco Estrada.
He joined the Jesuits, and was ordained a priest in 1553. He served as a college rector in Lisbon and Braga before Saint Francis Borgia (see “Saint Who?” of July 31) appointed him inspector for the Jesuit missions in Brazil. He returned after two years, eager to bring more missionaries to gather in the harvest there. His efforts were rewarded with seventy volunteers, many of them either students or novices. After five months of preparation, the group set sail for Brazil. On board the ships, he hoped to establish a ship’s school to educate orphans and immigrants.
But the so-called Wars of Religion between French Calvinists (Huguenots) and Catholics had begun. The ship fell into the hands of Huguenot pirates, and all Jesuits but one were cruelly martyred. Though their mission seemed to be a failure, their deaths inspired greater commitment to the missions. In 1999, an underwater monument was established at the site of their martyrdom.
All-knowing Father, through the prayers of your priest Ignatius de Azevedo, may we recognize martyrdom
for the triumph that it is.
