GIOVANNI da SAN FACONDO or di SAHAGÚN, saint. — Born at Sahagún in the region of León, Spain, in 1429; died at Salamanca on 11 June 1479. In his adolescence he was entrusted to the Benedictines. He was ordained priest by the bishop of Burgos, who enrolled him among the canons of the Cathedral.
Aflame with love for souls, he renounced his canonry and began to officiate in a chapel, where he preached, heard confessions, and gave spiritual direction to all those who, in great numbers, turned to him. When bloody conflicts arose among the nobles of Salamanca, he went to that city and worked effectively to extinguish their hatreds. Stricken by a most serious illness, he promised to become a religious if he recovered. On 18 June 1463 he donned the Augustinian habit. He was an exemplary subject and superior. Inflamed with zeal for the spiritual and temporal welfare of his neighbour, he sternly and freely rebuked masters who oppressed their servants; for this reason, more than once, the duke of Alba and others sought to put him to death. Clement VIII granted him the Office and Mass in 1601; Alessandro VIII enrolled him among the saints in 1690. The bull of canonization was promulgated in 1691 by Innocenzo XII. Feast: 12 June.