STEFANO (MERCUELLO-ZABALZA) of ADOAIN. - Born in Adoaín (Navarre) on 11 Oct. 1808, died in Sanlúcar de Barrameda on 7 Oct. 1880.
Having entered the Capuchins at Cintruénigo on 28 Nov. 1828 and been ordained priest on 22 Dec. 1832, he was sent in 1842 as a missionary to Venezuela; in 1853 he went to Cuba; in 1856 to Guatemala; in 1872 to the United States; and in 1874 he returned to Spain.
During his missionary activity he regulated numerous Christian families, civilized very many savages, and established religious associations in more than 200 parishes. In Central America he pacified insurrections and revolutions. He attended the plague-stricken on many occasions. He founded various convents and houses of retreat, all amidst persecutions, trials, imprisonments, exiles, and serious illnesses, displaying prodigious constancy. On returning to Spain in 1874, he traversed Andalusia and Navarre, reviving Christian life everywhere, convincing more by his conduct than by his powerful voice. He worked for the Capuchin restoration in Spain as provincial commissioner of Andalusia and vice-commissary general of the Capuchins in Spain, and prepared the reunion of the Spanish Capuchins with the rest of the Order.
The cause of beatification was introduced on 27 March 1936.