Peter González

Blessed Peter González, O.P.
16th-century painting of the Blessed Peter González, by Alejo Fernández, in the Alcázar of Seville
Religious, priest and confessor
Born	1190 Frómista, Kingdom of Castile and Leon
Died	April 15, 1246 Tui, Galicia, Kingdom of Castile and Leon
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church (Dominican Order)
Beatified	1254, Rome, Papal States by Pope Innocent IV
Canonized	December 13, 1741, Rome, Papal States by Pope Benedict XIV (cultus confirmed)
Feast	April 14
Attributes	Dominican holding a blue candle or a candle with a blue flame; Dominican lying on his cloak which is spread over hot coals; Dominican holding fire in his bare hands; Dominican catching fish with his bare hands; Dominican beside the ocean, often holding or otherwise protecting a ship
Patronage	sailors

The Blessed Peter González, O.P. (1190 - 1246), sometimes referred to as Pedro González Telmo, Saint Telmo, or Saint Elmo, was a Castilian Dominican friar and priest, born in 1190 in Frómista, Palencia, Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

González was educated by his uncle, the Bishop of Astorga, who gave him a when he was very young. On one occasion, he was riding triumphantly into the city, his horse stumbled, dumping him into the mud to the amusement of onlookers. Humbled the canon reevaluated his vocation and later resigned his position to enter the Dominican Order. González became a renowned preacher; crowds gathered to hear him and numberless conversions were the result of his efforts.

He spent much as his time as a court preacher. After King Saint Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon captured Córdoba, Peter was successful in restraining the soldiers from pillaging the city.

After retiring from the court, Peter devoted the remainder of his life to preaching in northwest Spain, and developed a special mission to Spanish and Portuguese seamen. He died on April 15, 1246, at Tui and is buried in the local cathedral.

Although his cultus was confirmed in 1741 by Pope Benedict XIV, and despite his common epithet of "saint," Peter was never formally canonized. Peter González was beatified in 1254 by Pope Innocent IV.