One of the Martyrs of the Mexican Revolution

Roman Martyrology:  In Durango, Mexico City, St. Mateo Correa, priest and martyr, in the midst of the persecution against the Church refused to reveal the secret of confession, thus receiving the crown of martyrdom (1927 ) .

Canonization date:  May 21, 2000 by Pope John Paul II during the Jubilee of Mexico.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Born July 23, 1866 at Tepechitlán, Zacatecas, Mexico. Attended the seminary at Zacatecas, Mexico on a scholarship, beginning 12 January 1881. Ordained on 20 August 1893. Parish priest, assigned to Concepcion de Oro, Mexico from 1898 to 1905. Close friend of the Pro-Juarez family, he baptized Humberto Pro, and gave First Communion to Blessed Miguel Pro. Re-assigned to Colotlan, Mexico from 1908 to 1910. Following the government’s repression of the Church in 1910, he went into hiding. Assigned to Valparaiso, Mexico in 1926.

Arrested while en route to a sick call; when he saw the soldiers approaching, he quickly swallowed the host to prevent desecration. Accused of being part of the armed Cristero rebellion, he was jailed in Zacatecas, and then in Durango, Mexico. While in jail, he heard confessions from other prisoners. When the jail’s commander, General Ortiz, demanded to know what the condemned men had said, Father Mateo refused. Martyred for being a priest, and for refusing to break the seal of the confessional.

He shot on  February 6, 1927 on the outskirts of Durango City, Durango, Mexico.