Blessed Miguel Pro, martyr of the Cristero persecution

Miguel Pro was a Mexican Jesuit priest born in 1891 in Guadalupe, Zacatecas. He was ordained in Belgium in 1925 and returned to Mexico during a period of severe anti-Catholic persecution under the government, which had outlawed public worship and priestly ministry. He secretly celebrated Mass, administered sacraments, and ministered to the faithful in Mexico City, often in disguise to evade authorities. In 1927 he was falsely accused of involvement in an assassination attempt against a former president and was executed by firing squad without trial. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988.