seer of the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531. Betancourt's tomb is in the San Francisco Church in Antigua Guatemala. The Cave of Santo Hermano Pedro is located in the south of the island of Tenerife, in a desert on the outskirts of the city of El Médano. It is a very popular pilgrimage site, where the faithful present votive offerings to Betancourt. Inside the cave is a wooden statue of Betancourt. Also an important place of veneration is the Sanctuary of the Santo Hermano Pedro, which is built on his birthplace in Vilaflor. Its liturgical holiday is April 25, although it is usually moved to 24, because the 25 is celebrated to Mark the Evangelist. Apart from the April holiday, in Tenerife is also celebrated on June 29, coinciding with the feast of Peter the Apostle. Legacy Betancourt is considered the great evangelist of the West Indies. He made a great social work comparable to that made centuries later by Mother Teresa in Calcutta, serving the most vulnerable and needy. He is sometimes credited with introducing to the Americas, the Christmas Eve posadas procession, in which people representing Mary and Joseph seek a night's lodging from their neighbors. The custom soon spread to Mexico and other Central American countries. Betancourt was known to work miracles also, some of them including healing sick people in under an hour. Also getting notes from deceased family members by setting rocks out and letting the member arrange them over time. Among other facets of his life, his defense in the Immaculate Conception stand out two centuries before the declaration of said dogma, his devotion to the souls of Purgatory and his penances. See also Bethlehemite Brothers List of saints of the Canary Islands References External links Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt (1626-1667) Canonización del Beato Hermano Pedro de San José de Betancurt Website of the Obras Sociales Society with the biography of Pedro Betancur Patron Saints Index: Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur 1626 births 1667 deaths 17th-century Christian saints 17th-century Spanish people Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Peter Roman Catholic missionaries from the Canary Islands Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Canonized Roman Catholic religious brothers Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain Roman Catholic missionaries in Guatemala Founders of Catholic religious communities Franciscan saints Spanish hermits Guatemalan Roman Catholic saints People from Tenerife Saints of the Canary Islands Spanish