Joseph of Carabantes

JOSEPH OF CARABANTES. - Capuchin preacher and missionary of the ancient province of Aragon, b. June 27, 1628, d. at Monforte de Lemos on April 11, 1694.

From 1657, together with other confreres, he undertook a courageous mission in the regions of Caracas, Cumaná (Venezuela) and on the banks of the Orinoco, especially among the fierce Carib Indians, founding villages and towns; he baptized more than 10,000 savages. He published (Seville 1666) interesting accounts of those missions; he presented to Alexander VII the homage of some indigenous chiefs, urging the sending of more missionaries. To these he gave precious directives in the manual Práctica de misiones, remedio de pecadores (León 1674; part 2, Madrid 1678; extracts in Analecta Min. Capuccinorum, 43 [1927], pp. 205-16). From 1667 he devoted himself to preaching in Andalusia and especially in Galicia, of which he was proclaimed the apostle. He spread the practice of singing the mysteries of the Rosary in the streets, illustrating this and other devotions in the Jardin florido del alma cultivado del christiano con el exercicio del Rosario, Via crucis, y de otras muchas devociones (Madrid 1677). For the use of parish priests and the faithful he commented on the Sunday Gospels in the Prácticas dominicales y lecciones doctrinales (2 vols., ibid. 1717 and 1727, Valencia 1723, Barcelona 1742). His cause of beatification was introduced on Aug. 24, 1910.

Ilarino da Milano