Antonio Margil

Life

He entered the Franciscan Order in his native city of Valencia, Spain on 22 April 1673. After his ordination to the priesthood he volunteered for the Native American missions, and arrived at Vera Cruz on 6 June 1683. He was stationed at the missionary college of Santa Cruz, Queretaro, but was generally engaged in reaching missions in Yucatan, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and especially in Guatemala.

He always walked barefooted, without sandals, fasted every day in the year, never used meat or fish, and applied the discipline as well as other instruments of penance to himself unmercifully. He slept very little, but passed in prayer the greater part of the night, as well as the time allotted for the siesta.

On 25 June 1706, he was appointed first guardian of the newly erected missionary college of Guadalupe, Zacatecas. In 1716 he led a band of three fathers and two lay-brothers into Texas, and founded the missions of Guadalupe among the Nacogdoches, Dolores among the Ays, and San Miguel among the Adays. When the French destroyed these missions, Father Margil withdrew to the Rio San Antonio, and remained near the present city of San Antonio, Texas for more than a year.

He then returned with his priests to the scene of his former activity, restored the missions, and gave his attention to the French settlers in Louisiana. In 1722 he was elected guardian of his college; at the close of his term of office he resumed missionary work in Mexico. He died at Mexico City in the Convento Grande de San Francisco.