Saint John of Sahagun or St. Fagondez
Confessor, Augustinian (1419-1479)
Feast – June 12
Saint John, one of the greatest preachers Spain has ever known, was born at Sahagún (or San Facondo) in the Province of Leon in Spain.
The son of pious and respected parents, John Gonzalez de Castrillo and Sancia Martinez, a wealthy family of the city. He was the fruit of the ardent prayers of his parents after sixteen years of sterility, the oldest of seven children. St. John received his early education from the monks of the Royal Monastery of St. Benedict in his native city, a leading religious and educational center in the region known as the Cluny of Spain, and received the tonsure while still a youth. According to the custom of the times, his father procured for him several benefices in the diocese of Burgos.
He was later introduced to Alfonso de Cartagena, the Bishop of Burgos(1435–1456), who was impressed by the bright, high-spirited boy. Cartagena had him educated at his own residence, gave him several prebends, ordained him a priest in the year 1445, and made him a canon at the Cathedral of Burgos. Unlike many of his class who took their vocation as a profession, St. John felt a true call to service and a holy life, out of conscientious respect for the laws of the Church, he resigned and gave most of the proceeds from his benefices to the poor and retained only the chaplaincy of St. Agatha, in a poor neighborhood of the city, where he said Mass, preached the faith to the poor. He then began to lead a life of strict poverty and mortification, laboring zealously for the salvation of souls.
He obtained from his bishop permission to study theology at the University of Salamanca. For four years he applied himself to the study. During this time he exercised the ministry at the chapel of the College of St. Bartholomew (in the Parish of St Sebastian), and held that position for nine years.
As a young priest he was already regarded as a Saint, so ardent was his devotion at Holy Mass.
Owing to illness, he was obliged to undergo an operation for the removal of kidney stones. Upon his recovery in the year 1463, he applied for admission to the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine.
He had bestowed on a poor man half of his clothing, and the following night St. John experienced so great an increase in the love of God, that he referred to this as his conversion. From that point on, being known simply as Friar John. In the following year, on August 28, 1464, John made his profession of solemn vows as a member of the Order.
By the command of his superiors, St. John gave himself wholeheartedly to the salvation of souls, and with the best results, to preaching the “Word of God.” He was a model religious, and soon was entrusted with important offices in his Order — master of novices, definitor for the province, and in 1471 prior of the convent of the city of Salamanca. He commanded well because he knew how to obey well. When he observed in himself a slight defect in his obedience, he repaired it with extraordinary penances.
Noted for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament; during Mass, he often saw the Sacred Host resplendent in glory surrounded by light. Sometimes he had visions of the bodily form of Christ and held sweet colloquies with Him at the moment of consecration. His devotion, and his visions, often led to some very lengthy Masses. He was even reported to levitate during prayers. He could read hearts, which made him difficult to deceive, forcing sinners to make good confessions. This in turn made him a sought-after spiritual director.
The power of his personal holiness was seen in his preaching, which produced a complete reformation of morals in Salamanca. He had a special gift for reconciling differences and was able to put an end to the quarrels and feuds among noblemen, at that period very common and fatal.
In his sermons, like St. John the Baptist, he fearlessly preached the word of God and scourged the crimes and vices of the day. The boldness shown by St. John in reproving vice endangered his life.
A duke at Alba de Tormes, having been corrected by the Saint for oppressing his vassals, sent two assassins to slay him; but the remarkable holiness of the Saint’s aspect, a result of the peace constantly reigning in his soul, struck such awe into their minds that they lost courage, could not execute their purpose and humbly begged his forgiveness. The nobleman himself, falling sick, was brought to repentance, and recovered his health by the prayers of the Saint whom he had endeavored to murder.
Some women of Salamanca, embittered by the saint’s strong sermon against extravagance in dress, openly insulted him in the streets and pelted him with stones until stopped by a patrol of guards.
His scathing words on impurity produced salutary effects in a certain nobleman who had been living in open concubinage with a lady of noble birth but evil life. She contrived to administer a fatal poison to the Saint. After several months of terrible suffering, borne with unvarying patience, St. John went to his reward on June 11, 1479. His remains were buried in the Old Cathedral of the city. This painful death and the cause for which he suffered it, have caused several of his historians and panegyrists to say that he won a martyr’s crown.
Soon after St. John’s death, his “cult” spread throughout Spain. The process of beatification began in 1525 under Pope Clement VII, and in 1601 he was declared “Blessed” by Pope Clement VIII. New miracles were wrought through his intercession, and on 16 October 1690 Pope Alexander VIII canonized him. In 1729 Pope Benedict XIII inscribed his liturgical feast day in the Roman Calendar for 12 June, since 11 June, the anniversary of his death was occupied by the feast of Saint Barnabas.
References and Excerpts
[1] “Saint John of Sahagun or St. Fagondez, Confessor, Augustinian.” [Online]. Available: http://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_john_of_sahagun_or_st_fagondez.html. [Accessed: 01-Jun-2019].
[2] “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Saint John of Sahagun.” [Online]. Available: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08478a.htm. [Accessed: 01-Jun-2019].
[3] “Saint Juan de Sahagún,” CatholicSaints.Info, 06-Jun-2013. .
[4] “John of Sahagún,” Wikipedia. 27-Jun-2017.