How A Saint Became A Robot

November 13:  Happy San Diego Day (St. Didacus of Alcala)

As you know, Saint Diego was born in Spain around 1400, became a Franciscan friar dedicated to caring for the sick and pilgrims, died in 1463, and was canonized as a saint in 1588 thanks to the efforts of King Philip II of Spain.   In 1769, Franciscan missionary Father Juniper Serra established the mission San Diego de Alcala in the southern California area of Mexico.   

The Saint Didacus Robot (AD 1580s)

As I discussed in the last podcast, King Philip II of Spain had a robot created of Saint Didacus (Nov 13) in order to commemorate the cure of his son Don Carlos through the intercessions of Saint Didacus. In short Don Carlos fell down some stairs and his head swelled up like a pumpkin. He went blind and lost consciousness. The corpse of Saint Didacus was brought in and the young man was healed. I tell the whole store with some more detail in this podcast.

Philip II’s robot is a walking version of Saint Didacus. The non-existent legs are hidden under the habit and the feet are automated. The mouth moves. He also strikes his chest “mea culpa” style.

It’s eerie but fascinating. The Didacus robot is now kept at the Smithsonian. Here’s a video of the friar-droid in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycyj76VPOtc

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