Saint Didacus of Alcalá O.F.M. (Spanish: Diego de Alcalá) († 1463), also known as Diego de San Nicolás, was a Spanish Franciscan lay brother who served as among the first group of missionaries to the newly conquered Canary Islands. In 1450, he went to Rome to share in the Jubilee Year proclaimed by Pope Nicholas V, and to be present at the canonization of Bernardine of Siena. In addition to the vast crowds of pilgrims arriving in Rome for Jubilee Year, thousands of friars had headed to Rome to take part in the celebration of one of the pillars of their Order. An epidemic broke out in the city. Didacus served as infirmarian and spent three months caring for the sick at the friary attached to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, and his biographers recorded the miraculous cure of many whom he attended through his pious intercession. He was then recalled back to Spain and was sent by his superiors to the Friary of Santa María de Jesús in Alcalá, where he spent the remaining years of his life in penance, solitude, and the delights of contemplation. Didacus was canonized by Pope Sixtus V in 1588, the first of a lay brother of the Order of Friars Minor. He is a Holy Patron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and Franciscan Lay Brothers. His feast day is celebrated on November 13.
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