José María Escoto Ruiz

About José María Escoto Ruiz

José María Escoto Ruiz was born on August 10, 1878, in Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, Mexico. He eventually entered the Carmelite community at Tárrega in Spain, where he was still a novice when he was killed in 1936.

His birth name was Gabriel Escoto Ruiz. The Diocese of San Juan de los Lagos identifies his birthplace more precisely as the community of Aguacaliente, within the municipality of Atotonilco el Alto. Before those journeys, Gabriel attended school in Atotonilco and worked in his father’s business. After his father’s death, he lived with married sisters. Its account describes a working life that took him to the United States and Argentina before his return to Mexico. He taught English and wrote for the newspaper El Demócrata. In 1926 he married Rosa Orozco.

A Carmelite account describes his years in commerce as work as a sales representative in Mexico, Argentina, and the United States. It also recalls his teaching and journalism before his entry into religious life. After eight years of marriage, he and his wife agreed that each would enter a religious community. He began the Carmelite novitiate in 1935.

The diocesan biography describes their journey to Rome to seek the permission required for this decision. Gabriel adopted the religious name José María. After a period at Olot, he returned to Tárrega and received the novice’s habit in October 1935. The account remembers his willingness to help with ordinary household tasks, including washing dishes and sweeping. His planned religious profession was prevented by the persecution that overtook his community. Rosa initially joined the Visitandines and later moved to a Carmelite monastery in Vic.

The Carmelite account places the Order’s novitiate and philosophy studies at Tárrega. In July 1936, the community was expelled from its convent. Its members sought shelter and then prepared to leave by train, but their attempt to escape ended in arrest.

The apostolic brief records that the Tárrega group was captured on July 28, 1936. The following day its members were shot at Clot dels Aubens, near Cervera, and their bodies were burned. The same record identifies Escoto Ruiz as a novice, not an ordained priest. He was beatified with Ángel María Prat Hostench and their companions on October 28, 2007. The Catholic Church honors him as a blessed and martyr.