Saint John Macias

John Macías, OP (or Massias, born Juan de Arcas y Sánchez; 2 March 1585 – September 16, 1645), was a Spanish-born Dominican friar who evangelized in Peru in 1620. He was canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI. His image is located at the main altar of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Lima and is venerated by the local laity in Peru. A church was built in his honor in 1970 in San Luis, Lima. He was born Juan de Arcas y Sánchez on March 2, 1585, in the small town of Ribera del Fresno, Extremadura which was under the jurisdiction of the Palencia Diocese, to Pedro de Arcas and Juana Sánchez. His parents were poor farmers; both died when Juan and his sister Mary were young. Juan was but four years old. The two children were raised by their uncle whose last name, “Macias,” they took as their own. His uncle trained him as a shepherd. Juan would pass the long hours praying the rosary. When he was about 16 years old, Macias met a Dominican friar while attending Mass in a neighboring village, and he began to consider the possibility of becoming a Dominican. It is said that as he began to seek God's will for his life; he was frequently visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary and by his patron, St. John the Evangelist. At the age of 25, Macias then started working with a wealthy businessman who offered him an opportunity to travel to South America. He set out for the Americas in 1619, arriving first at Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, then Reino de Nueva Granada, before stopping by Pasto and then Quito, Ecuador, and eventually arriving in Lima, Perú where he would remain for the rest of his life. Juan Macias was young when he set off as an emigrant for the new world. The ships which crossed the seas in those days carried all sorts of people: soldiers led by the lure of gold or glory; missionaries going to preach the Gospel; merchants and those seeking adventure; and also the poverty stricken hoping to find better luck.