Mariano de la Mata

Mariano de la Mata Aparicio was an Augustinian priest and missionary to Brazil. Known as the messenger of charity, he was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II and Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI.

Mariano was born in Barrio de la Puebla, Palencia, Spain on December 31, 1905. When he entered the Order of Saint Augustine in 1921, he was the fourth brother in his family to do so. He entered the Augustinian seminary in Valladolid and continued his studies at Santa Maria de la Vid in Burgos. He was vested in the habit of an Augustinian novice onSeptember 1921, and a year later made his First Profession of Augustinian vows. In 1926 Mariano was transferred to the Monastery of Santa Maria de la Vid near Burgos, Spain, where he completed his theological courses. He took Augustinian solemn vows onJanuary 1927, and became a priest onJuly 1930.He was briefly appointed to teach at an Augustinian school at Llanes , and then in July 1931 was sent to the Augustinian Viceprovince of Brazil.

Source: Wikipedia