'Black magic' failed 16th-century priest
Monday, September 10, 2012 - 13:30
in Earth & Climate
On Jan. 30, 1540, in Mexico City, at a time when Spain was carving out an empire in the New World, an epic trial got under way. An ordained Catholic priest named Pedro Ruiz Calderón was being prosecuted for practicing black magic. The priest actually bragged about the powers he had acquired, according to records a researcher is working on publishing.