- Antonio Gonzalez
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name=Antonio Gonzalez
birth_date=Antonio Gonzalez
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prayer_attrib=Antonio Gonzalez (died 1637) was a Roman Catholic
martyr andsaint .Born in Leon, Spain, he entered the
Dominican Order at the age of 16. His favorite saint was St.Peter of Verona , the Dominican proto martyr, thus his religious enthusiasm gave rise to his living desire for martyrdom. When an invitation was sent to their convent asking for volunteer missionaries for the Far East, Fr. Gonzales was among those who eagerly volunteered. His target destination was Japan, but he had to prepare for this mission in thePhilippines . He arrived inManila in May 1632. He became professor and acting rector of theUniversity of Santo Tomas . In 1636, he was finally able to fulfill his dream of going to Japan. After a year, he was arrested, proudly wearing his habit to signify that he went toJapan for the sake of the Gospel. After tremendous torture, he was found dead in his cell at the dawn ofSeptember 24 ,1637 .Antonio Gonzales was canonized by
Pope John Paul II in October 1987 together with his companion martyrs, includingSt. Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila.St. Antonio Gonzales is among the nine
Thomasian Martyrs .References
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