PIETRO IGNEO, Blessed
The Blessed passes unscathed through the flames. Sculpture by Benedetto da Rovizzano (15th century) — Florence, Museo Nazionale.
Together with Giovanni de Tecto, he took part in 1524 in Cortés’s expedition to Honduras and then returned to the city of Mexico, where he spent the rest of his life, especially in the education of young people. He founded schools and taught, alongside Christian doctrine, the arts, music, and work, with the aim of converting their relatives and eradicating the remnants of idolatry. Mendieta, a historian of the period immediately following, states that he built more than 100 churches and chapels, including the temple of St Francis in Mexico. He effectively defended the Indians before Charles V, which earned him various difficulties and hostility from the Spaniards. Towards the end of his life, under a false accusation, he was sent into exile in Tuscany, from where he soon returned, welcomed triumphantly by the Indians. He died amid the lamentations of the Indians after fifty years of apostolate. Five letters of his remain.