The Life of St. Didacus (upper south side windows)
St. Didacus
was a Spanish Franciscan Friar, a lay brother, who lived from 1400 to
1463. The first panel shows him in his Franciscan habit leaving his
native Spain crossing the sea as a missionary to the Canary Islands.
The following panels depict events that are connected with the story
of St. Didacus’ life. On one occasion it is told he rescued a
young boy who was playing in an oven when his mother, inadvertent to
his being inside, lit it. On another occasion he cured someone’s
sight by anointing his eyes with oil.
It is also a part of the stories concerning Didacus that he and a companion
were lost in the wilderness and an angel ministered to them by providing
them with bread and water.
Symbols of St. Didacus, as portrayed by a painting of him at Mission
San Diego, are a log cross, flowers, and bread. They represent his love
for the poor and his early career as a missionary.
In his later year, Didacus became the Guardian of the Franciscan Monastery
at Alcala, Spain, hence his title, St. Didacus of Alcala – in
Spanish San Diego de Alcalá.
