This is Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution of higher ed that was founded on the site of Mission Santa Clara, which was run by Franciscans. There must have been plenty of holy men around these parts, right?
Well, imagine witnessing a priest praying so hard he levitated. Imagine hearing your brother say he saw the priest in the infirmary, when you know you saw the priest in the church at the same exact time. Imagine your mother being steadied in a time of crisis because of the awe-inspiring faith displayed by this priest who prayed in front of the crucifix in the Mission most hours of the day. This was all before SCU was founded, when the Franciscans were still running Mission Santa Clara.
If you can imagine all this, then you can start to fathom Santa Clara’s Holy Man, Fr. Magín Catalá. You can also start to understand why Bishop Alemany (who gave the keys of Mission Santa Clara to Fathers Nobili and Accolti to found SCU) opened a case with the Vatican to canonize Fr. Catalá. To be canonized is to become a saint in the Catholic Church, following beatification. Groups of Catholics still remember Fr. Catalá even though he died almost two centuries ago and honor Fr. Catala in the current Mission Church on campus here at SCU. In fact, some local parishioners are actively looking into his case of canonization, wondering what it will take to further it in the Vatican.
If you want to learn more about Fr. Catalá and his legacy, SCU Archives & Special Collections has a collection related to him, including relics from his vestments and wood from his coffin. In addition, we have several books about him or that mention him in context with Mission Santa Clara.Continue reading below to access these resources.
Want to see the relics for yourself? Go ahead and contact us to make an appointment.
Digital Collection for Fr. Catala
Finding Aid for Fr. Catala Collection
Holy Man of Santa Clara by Engelhardt
Magin Catala, O.F.M. ; the holy man of Santa Clara by Stern
Header image: El Servent de Deu, Fra Magí Català, courtesy of SCU Archives & Special Collections digital collections.
[…] the unequivocal date the Mission Church acquired the crucifix that came to be known as the Catalá Cucifix. A researcher had posed this question to my boss via email, and my boss had then passed the […]