Christopher Magellan and 24 companions (†1927)

Biography

Cristóbal, of humble origins, was born in Totatiche, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in 1869. He was dedicated to hard work in the fields until he was 19. In 1888 he entered the Guadalajara seminary, where he distinguished himself for his piety, honesty and application. In September 1899 he received priestly ordination and his first positions were chaplain and deputy director of the Escuela de Artes y Oficios del Espíritu Santo, in Guadalajara. He spent the rest of his priestly life in his hometown, where he was a parish priest for twenty-one years, until he was shot. Christopher was a priest according to the Heart of Christ; Constant in preaching, he organized catechism centers, rural schools, chapels on ranches, built a dam to promote irrigation, founded an asylum for orphans, and worked to deliver small subdivisions of land to those who lacked it for their sustenance. Finally, he founded a minor seminary for the training of seminarians from rural areas. On May 21, 1927, when Father Cristóbal was preparing to celebrate a religious festival at a ranch, a revolt began, in which the federal forces commanded by General Goñi were involved. The priest could not escape and was taken to the Totatiche prison, where he met his vicar, Father Caloca. Agustín Caloca was born on May 5, 1898 in Las Presitas, state of Zacatecas. He was one of the students of peasant origin who benefited from the Totatiche seminary founded by Father Magallanes. There he studied Latin and philosophy, and then went to the major seminary in Guadalajara. He received priestly ordination on August 5, 1923. The good memories he left behind during his time at the Totatiche seminary, confirmed after his years as a seminarian in Guadalajara, advised the superiors to assign him to Totatiche, where he worked as an educator in the minor seminary, while at the same time he helped the parish priest Magallanes as coadjutor vicar in the ranches on the outskirts, organized a social week and established several centers for catechesis. Agustín was affable, social and cheerful, and always strove to do good to everyone. When, in May 1927, he saw that government troops were approaching Totatiche, Father Agustín decided that the seminarians should disperse. When he himself tried to escape from the seminary, he encountered a group of federal soldiers who arrested him and took him to the Totatiche prison, where the priest Magallanes was already there. The priests Cristóbal and Agustín had the guarantee of General Goñi, who had pledged his word to defend their lives. However, he ordered them to be transferred to Colotlán. There they were taken to the municipal palace, which had been burned, and lined up next to one of the interior walls that remained standing. Upon seeing the platoon, Father Caloca was disconcerted and showed signs of distress. But the fortitude of his parish priest and his words of encouragement and hope made him react and receive martyrdom with the strength of the saints: My son, just a moment and we will be in heaven, Christopher said to Augustine. That day, May 25, 1927, the two priests gave their lives for Jesus Christ. After the persecution, in 1933, the remains of Saint Christopher Magellan were exhumed, to be transferred to his parish of Totatiche. When the body of San Agustín Caloca was unearthed to be transferred to the church of El Teúl, it was verified that his heart was incorrupt. John Paul II, on November 22, 1992, beatified Christopher Magellan, Agustín Caloca and 23 other companions, and canonized them on May 21, 2000.