DIEGO GIUSEPPE da CADICE, blessed. – Capuchin preacher and writer of the province of Andalusia, b. in Cadiz on 30 March 1743, he entered the novitiate on 31 March 1758, d. at Ronda (Malaga) on 24 March 1801.
He was called the apostle of Spain, which he traversed preaching, amid the moved admiration of the great and of the people. He was appointed consultor and theologian in numerous dioceses, honorary canon of many cathedral Chapters, doctor honoris causa and member of various universities and cultural institutes. For religious reasons and in support of national independence, he advocated the crusade against the French revolutionaries (1793-95); his pamphlet El soldado católico en guerra de religión (Ecija 1794) enjoyed wide circulation and appeared in several editions. His sermons and speeches, collected in the Colección de las obras del V. p. Fr. Diego Josef de Cádiz (5 vols., Madrid 1796-99), were also circulated in numerous separate editions. A precious document of spirituality is the Cartas de conciencia que el b. Diego J. de Cádiz dirigió a su director espiritual (Seville 1904). He particularly promoted devotion to the Most Holy Trinity and to the privileges of Mary. He was beatified in 1894 by Leo XIII. Feast day: 26 March.