I made Miguel Pro my patron saint after I read about him in some Jesuit brochure. Although I went to a Jesuit grade school and was in a Jesuit parish, I never had heard about him. I started reading everything I could about him.
When I went to Mexico, I wanted to go to the church where he is buried but did not know how to find it. In the Basilica there on or near the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe I was standing next to some man who spoke English and he told me he knew where the church was and how to get there. On the way, he told me his father had entered the Jesuit novitiate and had had Miguel Pro as one of his teachers!!!!!!!! His father later left the seminary and got married. I saw the chapel where Miguel was buried at that time and was able to pray in the small chapel
Some time after that I became aware that quilters had a technique to transfer pictures onto cloth and then make quilts using the pictures. I decided Miguel Pro should have a quilt and it would be a good way to spread devotion to him. I found some fabric with a Mexican theme with sombreros, guitars, bulls, etc. which I used in the borders of the quilt and made the quilt which is a wall hanging about 39" x 39".
On one of his feast days a few years ago the pastor at Gesu Church put the quilt on what used to be the altar rail during Mass and after Mass he let me talk about Miguel Pro. Many people stayed after Mass to hear about him and most of them, if not all, had not heard about him.
The quilters here in a suburb of Cleveland, as part of the "Mayfield Township Historical Society" have a quilt show every two years and I entered the quilt in October, 2002. The quilters in charge of the show had entitled it "The Life of a Mexican Jesuit."
I do not know how many people looked at it over a three day period but I hope some of them will be inspired to learn more about him.
Beverly Likly
This Page Was Last Updated:
This site is maintained by Ann Ball and Fr. Ray Bucko, S.J.
at Creighton University
