Born: 2 March 1585 at Ribera del Fresno, Estramadura, Spain
Died: 17 September 1645 in Lima, Peru of natural causes
Beatified: 1837 by Pope Pius VII
Canonized: 1975 by Pope Paul VI
Memorial: 18 September
Saint John Massias, known as the "Helper of the Poor Souls", offered three rosaries every night for the souls in Purgatory, praying for them on his knees despite bodily fatigue. Saint John also sprinkled holy water on the ground several times a day for their relief. He also offered hundreds of short ejaculations ("sudden short exclamations, especially brief pious utterances or prayers") as he went around his regular work, applying the merit of these little prayers to the Holy Souls. Not a day passed that St. John didn't unite himself with the priest at the altar begging the Heavenly Father to grant all the souls eternal rest through the merits of Christ's death on Calvary.
The Holy Souls often appeared to him begging his powerful intercession, "Give us prayers", they cried with one voice. "Oh brother John, you are the friend of the poor and sick! Be our friend too! Help make us worthy to be with God and His Blessed ones."
- St. John Massias by Mary Fabyan Windeatt, page 89, 1972, Tan Books, Rockford IL,
