Portuguese priest of the Catholic Church, revered in Portugal for his apostolic fervour and charity, he visited prisons and hospitals in every city, gave alms to the poor and ministered spiritually to all, achieving a great reputation for sanctity. Some called him “Blessed Father Cruz” and “Apostle of Charity” still in his lifetime.
Cruz was the first priest to openly preach devotion to Our Lady of Fátima, at a time when most of the Portuguese clergy was still uneasy to show any sentiments favourable to the apparitions; this was before the Bishop of Leiria, José Alves Correia da Silva, recognised them as worthy of belief in 1930.
In August 1947 at age 88 he was still travelling across Portugal in his apostolic mission. In December of that year, he fell gravely ill with bronchopneumonia and was bedridden for almost a year; he finally died on 1 October 1948 of a myocardial infarction, clutching a holy card of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the large rosary he always carried around.
The cause for his canonization was officially opened in 1951 and its diocesan phase took place until 1965; due to changes in the norms of canonization procedures, a suppletory process was opened in the Patriarchate of Lisbon in September 2009 and was formally closed on 17 December 2020. The cause is now before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the Roman Curia.
Link to Wikipedia biography