For Rafael Barceló Durazo, who grew up across the border from Arizona in the Mexican state of Sonora, Venerable Father Eusebio Kino is a symbol of unity. Today, as the Mexican consul in Tucson, he also looks to the famed missionary known as Padre Kino — and declared venerable by Pope Francis — as an example to follow.

“I have always admired the courage Padre Kino required among the missionaries that came to a distant and inhospitable land and climate like Sonora and Arizona,” Barceló told CNS. “But he didn’t only come to transmit his message of faith. He also came with a great Christian love in the way he viewed the world and related with the indigenous communities of the Pimería Alta and Pimería Baja.”