Didacus was born c. 1400 into a poor but pious family in the small village of San Nicolás del Puerto in the Kingdom of Seville.

That island had been conquered by Jean de Béthencourt about 40 years earlier and was still in the process of introducing the native Guanche people to Christianity.

There, though it was an exception to the ordinary rules for a lay brother to be named to this position, his great zeal, prudence, and sanctity justified this choice.

[1] In 1450, Didacus was recalled to Spain, from which point 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.

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 record the miraculous cure of many whom he attended through his pious intercession.

[3] He was then recalled again 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.

A possible provenance would be a presumed model of Didacus, commissioned by Philip II of Spain to Juanelo Turriano, mechanic to Emperor Charles V.[10] Historical theories for why the friar was built include that Philip II wished to share the miracle of his son's recovery with his people; or the clockwork friar provided a portable model of "how to pray" which could be displayed around the kingdom.