Saint of the Day Online - St Francisco Solano

Saint of the Day for Monday, July 17, 2017

Saint Name: Saint Francisco Solano
Place: Spain
Birth: 1549
Death: 1610
Feast: July 17

Francisco Solano who was born on 10 March 1549 was a Spanish friar and missionary in South America, belonging to the Order of Friars Minor, and is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.

Francis came from a leading family in Andalusia, Spain. Perhaps it was his popularity as a student that enabled Francis in his teens to stop two duelists. He entered the Friars Minor on 25 April 1570, and after ordination enthusiastically sacrificed himself for others. There he learned not only philosophy and theology but developed his musical talents. He was ordained in 1576, a ceremony his mother was unable to attend due to her poor health. He was then named Master of Ceremonies for the community. Still a lover of simplicity, Francis made a small cell for himself by the chapel of the friary, made of clay and reeds. His care for the sick during an epidemic drew so much admiration that he became embarrassed and asked to be sent to the African missions. Instead, he was sent to South America in 1589.

After completing his final theological studies, Solano was assigned as an itinerant preacher to the surrounding villages of the region. He was eventually given a license as a confessor. During this period, he requested that he might be allowed to go to North Africa, with the hope of achieving martyrdom for preaching the Catholic faith. He was denied this request. At that point, Solano shifted his vision to the American missions.

While working in what is now Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, Francis quickly learned the local languages and was well received by the indigenous peoples. His visits to the sick often included playing a song on his violin.

Around 1601, he was called to Lima, Peru, where he tried to recall the Spanish colonists to their baptismal integrity. Francis also worked to defend the indigenous peoples from oppression. He died in Lima in 1610 and was canonized in 1726.