The Diocese of Gaylord celebrated Blessed Miguel Pro by sharing the story of the priest and martyr revered for his willingness to practice and share the faith even when it put him in mortal danger. 

“Today is the Memorial of Blessed Miguel Pro, priest and martyr,” the Diocese of Gaylord stated in a Nov. 23 post to Twitter. The tweet includes a link to an article about Miguel Pro in its Faith magazine. 

The article describes Pro as a mischievous, fun-loving child whose joking sometimes got him into trouble. "Little did he know that his childhood escapades would serve him well years later as a clandestine priest," the article states. 

Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez was born Jan. 13, 1891 in Guadalupe, Mexico, and was as spiritual was playful, according to his Catholic Online biography. When a beloved older sister entered a cloistered convent, 20-year-old Miguel was inspired to enter a Jesuit novitiate, the biography states. 

A 1914 revolution in Mexico swept a wave of anti-Catholicism throughout the country, and the Jesuit seminarians fled, first to the United States and then to Europe, according to his biographies. Miguel was ordained in Belgium in 1925. 

Miguel developed a chronic stomach illness and in 1926, was allowed to return to his native Mexico despite the ongoing religion persecution in the country. Upon his return, he clandestinely served the faithful by donning disguises, "Thanks to his cleverness, many Catholics were baptized, were able to confess their sins and go to Mass in secret," states Faith magazine.

On Nov. 23, 1927, Miguel’s life ended at age 36 after he was falsely accused of trying to assassinate Mexico’s president. He was executed by firing squad. His final words were “Viva Cristo Rey!” which is translated to “Long live Christ the King!”

Miguel Pro was beatified in 1988 although he has not yet been canonized. 

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,Beatification is “the second stage in the process of proclaiming a person a saint; occurs after a diocese or eparchy and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has conducted a rigorous investigation into the person's life and writings to determine whether he or she demonstrates a heroic level of virtue, offered their life or suffered martyrdom. A miracle attributed to the person's intercession must be proved.”

Miracles attributed to his intercession include the curing of illnesses and conversions of former hardened sinners, according to Catholic Sun.

The Memorial of Blessed Miguel Pro of is celebrated on Nov. 23.