2023-10-24 02:00:00
High was the cost he paid for jealously watching over the souls that God placed in his hands: of the 18 years in which he was in charge of his diocese, nine were spent in exile or on the run, always under threat of death.
“I would give my life for the salvation of souls”
In 1937, while preaching in Córdoba, Veracruz, he suffered a heart attack that left him bedridden. Perhaps with justice, after a life of sacrifice and constant testing, Bishop Guízar y Valencia was able to retire or resign. However, that blow to his health did not stop him either. From his bedside he directed his diocese as best he could, especially concerned about his seminary. Bishop Rafael used to say: “A Bishop may lack a miter, crosier and even a cathedral, but he can never lack the seminary, because the future of his diocese depends on the seminary.”
San Rafael Guízar y Valencia died on June 6, 1938 in Mexico City. The next day his mortal remains were transferred to Jalapa, where everyone wanted to see “Holy Bishop Guízar” for the last time. He was beatified in 1995 by Saint John Paul II and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.
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