Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur
Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur y Gonzáles, OFB (Spanish: Pedro de San José de Betancur y Gonzáles, 21 March 1626– 25 April 1667), also called Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt (Brother Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur) or more simply Peter de Betancurt, Hermano Pedro (Brother Peter), Santo Hermano Pedro (Saint Brother Peter), or San Pedro de Vilaflor (Saint Peter of Vilaflor), was a Spanish saint and missionary in Guatemala.
Known as the "Saint Francis of Assisi of the Americas", he is the first saint native to the Canary Islands. He left at the age of 23 for New Spain, and is considered the first saint of Guatemala and Central America for having done his missionary work in those American lands. He was the founder of Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem.
Patron saint of Canary Islands; Guatemala; Central America; catechists of Guatemala; of the homeless and of those who serve the sick
In the Martyrology
- April 25 Saint Pedro de San José de Betancur, Franciscan tertiary religious, founder of the Brothers of Bethlehem