Saint John Macias

In 1622, Juan Macías decided to fully dedicate his life to God. He knocked at the door of the Dominican convent of Saint Mary Magdalene (Santa María Magdalena) in Lima, where he was admitted as a lay brother. He made his solemn vows there on January 25, 1623. For twenty-two years, until his death, he served as the convent's porter. This duty, humble in appearance, became the center of a monumental work of charity. Situated at the entrance of the monastery, Juan was in direct contact with the misery of the city. Inspired by his contemporary and close friend, Saint Martin de Porres (who lived at the convent of the Holy Rosary, a few streets away), he devoted himself body and soul to the most destitute. Each day, he managed to feed more than two hundred people, mainly the poor, orphans, widows, but also indigenous people and black slaves, whom he served on his knees with profound respect. To finance this work, he traveled the city on foot alongside a donkey loaded with saddlebags to beg for food, clothing, and money from the wealthy inhabitants of Lima, whom he also knew how to advise with wisdom. Over time, the animal knew the route so well that it even made the rounds of the donors all by itself.

The life of Juan Macías was marked by an intimate union with God amidst his daily activities. Although illiterate, he possessed an infused knowledge of the mysteries of the faith that impressed the theologians and priests of the convent, who regularly came to seek his spiritual counsel. Alongside his service to the poor, he imposed harsh penances upon himself: rigorous fasts, the wearing of a hairshirt, iron disciplines, and the wearing of an iron chain tightened around his waist. He spent a large part of his nights in prayer in the convent chapel, interceding particularly for the souls in Purgatory, for whom he recited the Rosary daily. His reputation as a wonder-worker grew during his lifetime thanks to several healings and miracles of the multiplication of food attributed to him. Sensing his end approaching, he predicted the day of his death with accuracy. He passed away peacefully on September 16, 1645, in Lima, surrounded by his Dominican brothers.

The reputation for holiness of Juan Macías was such that an informative process for his beatification began shortly after his death. He was solemnly beatified on October 22, 1837, by Pope Gregory XVI. Although he was raised to the altars during the same process as his friend Martin de Porres, their beatification ceremonies took place one week apart: October 22, 1837, for John Macias and October 29, 1837, for Martin de Porres. The decisive miracle accepted for his canonization occurred more than three centuries after his death, on January 23, 1949, at the Saint Joseph House (Casa de Nazaret) in Olivenza, Spain. On that day, the cook of this charitable institution for poor children, Leandra Rebollo Vázquez, realized that she had only 750 grams of rice to feed more than a hundred people. Faced with this shortage, she fervently invoked Blessed Juan Macías. During cooking, the rice began to multiply inexplicably, overflowing from the pot. The cook had to transfer the rice into several other containers, which filled up in turn. This prodigy allowed all the children and poor people present to be fed abundantly, and the leftovers were kept as material evidence. After a rigorous technical and scientific investigation conducted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, this miracle was officially recognized. Juan Macías was canonized on September 28, 1975, by Pope Paul VI in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The spirituality of Saint Juan Macías perfectly embodies the motto of the Order of Preachers: "Contemplari et contemplata aliis tradere" (To contemplate and to transmit to others the fruits of one's contemplation). His life demonstrates that the highest mystical contemplation can flourish in the fulfillment of the most ordinary tasks, such as welcoming visitors at the gate of a convent. Today, Saint Juan Macías is particularly venerated in Peru and Spain. His relics rest alongside those of Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Martin de Porres in the Basilica of the Most Holy Rosary (Convent of Saint Dominic) in Lima. He is considered a patron saint of the poor, the oppressed, and doorkeepers, but also of migrants, having himself experienced exile and uprooting when leaving his native Spain to settle in the New World.