Peter González

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See also: Saint Elmo (disambiguation), San Telmo (disambiguation), and Pedro Gonzalez (disambiguation)
Blessed

Peter González

O.P.
San Telmo representacion con cirio y barco.jpg
16th-century painting of the Blessed Peter González, by Alejo Fernández, in the Alcázar of Seville
Religious, priest and confessor
Born1190
Frómista, Kingdom of Castile and Leon
Died15 April 1246
Tui, Galicia, Kingdom of Castile and Leon
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
(Dominican Order)
Beatified1254, Rome, Papal States by Pope Innocent IV
Canonized13 December 1741, Rome, Papal States by Pope Benedict XIV (cultus confirmed)
Feast14 April
AttributesDominican holding a blue candle or a candle with a blue flame; Dominican lying on his cloak which is spread over hot coals; Dominican holding fire in his bare hands; Dominican catching fish with his bare hands; Dominican beside the ocean, often holding or otherwise protecting a ship
Patronagesailors

Peter González (1190 - 1246), sometimes referred to as Pedro González Telmo, Saint Telmo, or Saint Elmo, was a Castilian Dominican friar and priest, born in 1190 in Frómista, Palencia, Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Life[]

González was educated by his uncle, the Bishop of Astorga, who gave him a canonry when he was very young. On one occasion, he was riding triumphantly into the city, his horse stumbled, dumping him into the mud to the amusement of onlookers. Humbled, the canon reevaluated his vocation and later resigned his position to enter the Dominican Order. González became a renowned preacher; crowds gathered to hear him and numberless conversions were the result of his efforts.

He spent much of his time as a court preacher. After King Saint Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon captured Córdoba, González was successful in restraining the soldiers from pillaging the city.[1]

After retiring from the court, González devoted the remainder of his life to preaching in northwest Spain, and developed a special mission to Spanish and Portuguese seamen. He died on 15 April 1246 at Tui and is buried in the local cathedral.[2]

Veneration[]

Although his cultus was confirmed in 1741 by Pope Benedict XIV, and despite his common epithet of "saint," González was never formally canonized. Peter González was beatified in 1254 by Pope Innocent IV.[2]

The diminutive "Elmo" (or "Telmo") belongs properly to the martyr-bishop Erasmus of Formia (died c. 303), one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, of whose name "Elmo" is a contraction. However, as Erasmus is the patron saint of sailors generally, and Peter González of Spanish and Portuguese sailors specifically, they have both been popularly invoked as "Saint Elmo." he is also the patron of St. Peter Themo parish in Aparri, Cagayan

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Foley OFM, Leonard. Saint of the Day, (revised by Pat McCloskey OFM), Franciscan Media
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Mershman, Francis. "St. Peter Gonzalez." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 28 December 2015

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links[]

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