The City Council of El Poble Nou de Benitatxell has started, together with the historians of the municipality J. Cano, G. Gilabert and M. Almenara, research work to carry out a complete biography of Father Placido, one of the most illustrious people.
“We want to value his figure and collect all the information about his life. He was a very loved and well-known person and he deserves that his contribution to our municipality be reflected and disclosed, ”said the mayor, Miguel Ángel García.
What is known about Father Placido is that he was born in El Poble Nou de Benitatxell in 1895. In 1907, he entered the Franciscan Minor Seminary of Benissa, where he studied Humanities. On October 24, 1911, he finished his novitiate at the Franciscan monastery of the Holy Spirit of the Mountain in Gilet and began his religious profession there. He was ordained a priest on September 21, 1918. In 1930 he was sent to Rome to further his studies. There he obtained the title of Doctor of Canon Law at the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome. Upon his return, he taught theology at the Franciscan Studentate of Ontinyent.
With the start of the Civil War, Father Placido had to take refuge in a brother's house in Poble Nou. There he lived for a while until on August 15, 1936, he was arrested and executed. In 1967 his remains would be transferred to the Santa María Magdalena church in Benitatxell, where they currently rest. On March 11, 2001, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II along with 232 other people.
