José María Robles

Biography

When he was only 12 years old he applied for admission to the Guadalajara seminary. He stood out for his alert intelligence and tenacity in his studies. After his ordination, he was appointed vicar of Nochistan where he fulfilled his duties with great pastoral zeal and later became parish priest in Tecolotlán, Jalisco. Two loves filled his heart: Jesus Christ (Sacred Heart and Eucharist) and the Most Holy Mary. He wanted the young Christian women of his parish to participate in these loves and help spread them, and for this reason he decided to found the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacramental Heart of Jesus. During the religious persecution and suppression of public worship, he remained at the head of his parish, because although they advised him to get away from danger, he responded: "A shepherd never abandons his sheep." In those last months of his life of continuous danger, he gave admirable proofs of virtue. He dedicated his long hours of seclusion to study, prayer, praying the rosary and penitence. Sustained by the grace of the daily Mass and the permanent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. When the soldiers arrived at where he was hiding, he himself opened the door for them with absolute serenity. They took him to the mountains and there they hanged him, José María himself placed the rope around his neck and, forgiving his executioners, gave his soul to God. His remains are venerated in the chapel of the novitiate of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He was canonized on May 21, 2000.