 Antonio Margil's statue in Queretaro, Mexico | |
| Priest and Missionary | |
| Born | Antonio Margil Ros (1657-08-18)18 August 1657 Valencia,Spain |
| Died | 6 August 1726(1726-08-06) (aged 68) Mexico City,Mexico |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | August 8 |
Antonio Margil, OFM (18 August 1657 – 6 August 1726) was a SpanishFranciscan missionary in North and Central America. Based at the College of Santa Cruz inSantiago de Querétaro, after 1715, he worked largely in Texas and Louisiana. Father Margil was declared "Venerable" in 1836.
Antonio Margil was born in Valencia, Spain, on August 18, 1657.[1] Margil entered the Franciscan Order in his native city on 22 April 1673. After his ordination to the priesthood, he volunteered for theNative American missions and arrived atVera Cruz on 6 June 1683. He was stationed at the missionaryCollege of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, but was generally engaged in reaching missions inYucatan,Costa Rica,Nicaragua, and especially inGuatemala.[2]
He always walked barefooted, without sandals, fasted every day in the year, never used meat or fish, and applied the discipline and other instruments of penance to himself. He slept very little but passed in prayer the greater part of the night, as well as the time allotted for thesiesta.[2] On 25 June 1706, Margil was appointed the first guardian of theCollege of Guadalupe de Zacatecas.
In 1716 he accompaniedDomingo Ramón's expedition toEast Texas. The expedition began from San Juan Bautista (present-dayGuerrero, Coahuila) on April 12, 1716, and was made up of seventy-five members (among them twelve friars, includingIsidro de Espinosa, president of the missionaries from the College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro.[3][4] and more than twenty civilians). Margil founded the mission ofNuestra Señora de Guadalupe to serve theNacogdoche.[5] In a 1716 letter to the viceroy of New Spain, Margil was the first to refer to these territories as the province ofNew Philippines.[6]
Margil returned with Ramon in 1717 and foundedNuestra Señora de los Dolores among theEyeish.
From the Eyeish, Margil heard of theAdai people, and in March, 1717, located them near Spanish Lake. He founded the mission ofSan Miguel de Linares,[4] and built there probably the first church in Louisiana.[7] This was just 20 miles (32 km) west of the French fort atNatchitoches, Louisiana.
Leaving Father Gusman in charge, Margil journeyed on foot to Natchitoches to minister to the French Catholics there, and then went back to Texas. He remained near the present city ofSan Antonio, Texas for more than a year.[2] There he establishedMission San José (Texas) to serve theCoahuiltecan.
In 1718, during the brief war with Spain, the French Commandant at Natchitoches, invaded the Adai mission, plundered it, and carried away the church vestments. Margil heard of it, and in 1721 came back, found the Adai who had taken refuge in the forests for fear of the French, and rebuilt their church, which he dedicated toOur Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of the expedition. For many years afterwards the Adai mission was attended from San Antonio by the Franciscans, who attended also the missions of Nacogdoches and St. Augustin, Texas.[7]
In 1722 he was elected guardian of his college; at the close of his office term, he resumed missionary work in Mexico. He died in Mexico City at the Convento Grande de San Francisco.
Margil's cause was formally opened on July 19, 1769, and he was given the titleServant of God. His spiritual writings were approved by theologians on May 4, 1796. In 1836Pope Gregory XVI declared Father Antonio Margil's virtues heroic, and he is now titledVenerable.[8]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Antonio Margil".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. The entry cites: