Aureliano Landeta Azcueta

In 1912, Father Aurelian was sent to South India, arriving in Bombay on October 5 and then in Ernakulam on October 9. He would never return to Spain. For 51 years, he dedicated himself to the formation of the indigenous clergy at the Saint Joseph Apostolic Major Seminary in Alwaye (Aluva), Kerala, where he served as rector from 1944 to 1956. There, he accompanied thousands of seminarians. At the same time, he propagated Eucharistic devotion in India, Burma, and Ceylon, directing the Eucharistic League of Priests (1928-1945), organizing two national Eucharistic Congresses (Goa in 1931, Madras in 1937), and establishing a network of perpetual adoration in 1933. He is also the author of major spiritual works such as The Mirror of Priests.

Nicknamed "the lamp of the Blessed Sacrament" for his long hours of adoration, Father Aurelian passed away on November 16, 1963, in Ernakulam (Aluva). His cause for beatification opened in the Archdiocese of Verapoly. The nihil obstat decree was granted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on September 11, 1980. The diocesan inquiry took place from 1980 to 1984, its validity was decreed on February 1, 1986, and the Positio on his heroic virtues was published in Rome in 1991.

On March 26, 1999, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thus conferring upon him the title of Venerable. The official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession remains required for his beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Aurelian of the Blessed Sacrament is deeply Eucharistic and priestly. For him, the Eucharist is the heart of the ordained ministry and of missionary fruitfulness. His work The Mirror of Priests remains a spiritual guide of reference for priests and seminarians. His legacy is perpetuated particularly in India through the local clergy he trained.