Francisco Maldonado da Silva Is Burned in Lima

On this day, the physician Francisco Maldonado da Silva was burned at the stake in Lima. The Jewish Encyclopedia records that he was born in San Miguel, in Tucumán, about 1592, and that eleven Judaizers were sent to the pyre at the auto-da-fé of 23 January 1639. He was the one who refused to carry a green cross.

His father, Diego Nuñez de Silva, had already been reconciled by the Lima Inquisition. Francisco was tried as a Judaizer and would not return to the Church. The Jewish Encyclopedia calls that auto the most costly and resplendent in the annals of Peru, and records his last words: “This is the will of the Lord. I shall see the God of Israel face to face.”