On May 20, 2023, Pope Francis declared Father Pedro Diez Gil de la Virgen del Carmen (1913-1983) Venerable. Pedro Diez Gil de la Virgen del Carmen (1913-1983). Celebrating the first anniversary of the declaration of his virtues is an occasion to remember his life and figure, having recourse to his intercession.
Who was Venerable Father Pedro?
He was born in Pampliega (Burgos) on April 14, 1913. Because of his father’s job, a railroad worker by profession, he lived in several towns in the north of Spain. During his stay in Tolosa, he attended school of the Pious Schools, where he began his vocational discernment.
In 1926 he began his initial formation in Saragossa and then went to Peralta de la Sal, Irache and Albelda de Iregua. He made his solemn profession in 1935 and was ordained a priest on April 10, 1937. He was 24 years old. He was assigned to the “Escuelas Pías” school in Zaragoza, where he remained until his death on December 14, 1983.
What did Venerable Father Pedro do?
The life of Venerable Father Pedro is extraordinarily simple: teacher of the youngest students and responsible for the Church of the school. His availability in the tasks of the community and his attention to the poorest families of the San Pablo neighborhood stand out.
He taught reading and writing to the infants of the Pious Schools, implementing an innovative method, devised together with the Servant of God Joaquin Erviti Lazcano Sch. P. He accompanied generations of students from Zaragoza in their preparation for First Communion, and generously assisted everyone who came to him: students, families, nuns, neighbors of the neighborhood… all found in him a smile and the necessary help.
What does it mean that Father Pedro is Venerable?
The declaration of venerability entails:
- The Church’s recognition of Father Pedro’s life, which assures that he has lived his vocation in an exemplary way.
- The possibility of having recourse to his intercession: it invites us to entrust our needs to God by asking for the help of Venerable Father Pedro.
Venerable Father Pedro is a model for religious and lay Piarists, for educators and for all people close to the Pious Schools. We can have recourse to his intercession by praying:
Lord Jesus, who set a child as the model of your Kingdom
and sent the Venerable Peter, a Piarist, to prolong your teaching among the little ones
grant, through his intercession, that we may imitate him in his apostolic zeal
so that in heaven we may enjoy the same reward.
You who live and reign forever and ever. AMEN.
Ask the Lord, through the intercession of Venerable Peter, for the grace you wish to obtain.
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Communicate the favors and graces to: postulazione@scolopi.net
