June 10, 2011. (Romereports.com) He's known as “El Pelé,” he's the blessed Ceferino Giménez, the first Gypsy to be beatified in the history of the Church, making him the patron of the Gypsies.
Born in Spain in 1861, this year marks the 75th anniversary of his martyrdom during the Spanish Civil War. He spent most of his life in the town of Barbastro and worked in the field of horse trade.
He was
considered such an honest man that gypsies and non-gypsies would come to
him to help solve a dispute.
Ceferino was arrested for standing in defense of a priest and for
carrying a rosary in his pocket. He was offered freedom if he stopped to
pray the rosary, but he refused.
John Paul II said he “showed that Christ is present in all people and every race and that all are called to holiness.”
BS/JMB/AE
