Venerable Juan Manuel Martín del Campo

Juan Manuel Martín del Campo (14 December 1917 – 13 August 1996) was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and exorcist. He was a student and friend of the bishop Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia and studied for the priesthood in secret during the Cristero War that plagued Mexico during the thirties. He was even dubbed as "the new Padre Pio" due to his similarities to the Italian Capuchin. He became titled as a Servant of God under Pope Benedict XVI on 27 November 2008 once the canonization cause commenced and he was titled as Venerable on 30 September 2015 after Pope Francis confirmed that the late priest led a life of heroic virtue. Juan Manuel Martín del Campo was born on 14 December 1917 to Ana Martín del Campo. His parents would lead their children in rosaries on a frequent basis and his mother would bless him before he went to sleep. His elder brother Fernando became a priest. He studied for the priesthood in Veracruz during a period of religious persecution of the Cristero War and so attended underground classes that were conducted in secret and spent most of his time off administering to the poor and to the ill while also helping to conduct covert Masses to avoid detection. He came to the attention of the Bishop Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia who started mentoring the seminarian and also becoming a close friend. Valencia's successor - Manuel Pío López - appointed him as an acolyte (one who prepares liturgical celebrations) on 16 July 1939. He was ordained as a priest on 21 December 1940 and became both a teacher and a spiritual director while being appointed as the prefect of theologians from 1940 to April 1947 when he was made the confessor to the Sisters of Banderilla. As a popular confessor he often spent six to eight hours in the confessional with people even waiting until midnight to see him.