The pastor told his priests that they were free to go home or to hide. All willingly chose to stay, saying, “We are ready to face any serious consequences for continuing in our priestly duties.”
Welcome to "North American Sanctity," a series on holy men and women, boys and girls, saints and those on the road to sainthood, from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Some will be familiar, others less so; but all are inspiring!
By Kimberly Bruce
He was a star athlete and captain of his seminary football team. At age 22, he had only been a priest for three months when he was martyred, shot in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith) in Veracruz, Mexico.
His name is Bl. Ángel Darío Acosta Zurita (1908-1931), and his feast day is July 25, the day he was murdered.
Childhood poverty
Born in Naolinco, Mexico, one of five children to faith-filled parents, Darío was baptized Ángel. His father, Leopoldo, died when Darío was still a young child. His mother, Dominga, had to find work to support herself and her five children, and the family struggled in terrible poverty. Darío began to help support his family.
The local bishop, the future St. Rafael Guízar y Valencia, had recently moved his seminary to Mexico City and was on the look-out for new seminarians. Darío, having already discerned the call to become a priest, was initially refused entrance because he was too young, and his mother’s only help in supporting the family. Dominga would not accept the bishop’s refusal, however, and interceded for her son to be allowed entrance to the seminary. Bishop Valencia relented, and Darío began his studies.
Darío was ordained on Apr. 25, 1931, and celebrated his first Mass in Veracruz on May 24. The new Fr. Darío loved to teach catechism classes to children and hear Confessions.
Tejada Law
Although Fr. Darío was ordained shortly after the Cristero War ended in Mexico, there was still widespread persecution of Catholics. The government’s new Tejeda Law ordered the reduction of priests throughout Veracruz to end the so-called “fanaticism of the people,” according to Gov. Adalberto Tejeda Olivares.
Father Darío had just been appointed a vicar at Assumption Parish in Veracruz with two other priests, Fr. Rafael Rosas and Fr. Alberto Landa, when the state sent letters informing each about the law that was to be implemented on July 25, 1931. When Fr. Darío received his letter, he is said to have remained calm with his faith in God.
The pastor told his priests that they were free to go home or to hide before the mandate went into effect. All willingly chose to stay, saying, “We are ready to face any serious consequences for continuing in our priestly duties.”
July 25th began like any other normal summer Saturday at the parish. Children arrived for catechism classes. Father Darío had just finished baptizing a child at the baptismal font when, at 6:10 p.m., armed militia burst through the doors of the church dressed in trench coats and opened fire on the priests. Father Darío’s last word was, “Jesus!”
Father Landa was seriously wounded, but Fr. Rosas was miraculously protected from harm by the church’s pulpit.
Another priest, Fr. De la Mora, upon hearing the shooting, rushed out of the sacristy and asked that he, too, be killed, but the militia had already left.
Holy priests of God
These men were all holy priests of God. Once, when St. Faustina observed a holy priest that she knew, she remarked how much God greatly loved him. Conversely, she said that Satan hated him “because he is leading many souls to a high degree of sanctity and has regard only for God’s glory.” She added, “where Satan himself can do no harm, he uses people” (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1384).
The evil one certainly used people in and surrounding the Cristero War to murder those who proclaimed the Gospel, were examples of holiness and goodness, and those that had already given their lives in service to others.
Father Darío was beatified with eight companions by Pope Benedict XVI on Nov. 20, 2005. Cardinal José Saraiva Martins presided over the Mass of Beatification at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Trust God!
Sometimes, like in the case of Bl. Darío’s short life, we may not know the reasons why we suffer. We are asked only to trust God. Said St. Faustina:
There are moments of suffering about which I really cannot write … There are times when He Himself allows terrible sufferings, and then again there are times when He does not let me suffer and removes everything that might afflict my soul. These are His ways, unfathomable and incomprehensible to us. It is for us to submit ourselves completely to His holy will. There are mysteries that the human mind will never fathom here on earth; eternity will reveal them (Diary, 1656).
This is exactly what Bl. Darío chose to do in 1931. He and his brother priests chose to put their trust in God by not abandoning their flock and refusing to surrender their priestly ministry.
May Bl. Darío’s example of love for others and his bravery help us to become stronger and holier Catholics.
Blessed Ángel Darío Acosta Zurita, pray for us!
Next in the series: Blessed Stanley Rother, July 28.
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IIllustration: Catedrales e Iglesias/Cathedrals and Churches CC.
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