Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War
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During the Spanish Civil War Catholic people faced persecution from the Republican faction of the war, in part due to their support of the nationalists and the recently abolished monarchy. The Catholic Church venerates them as martyrs.[2] More than 6,800 clerics and other Catholic people were killed in what has been dubbed the Red Terror. As of November 2023, 2,127 Spanish martyrs have been beatified; 11 of them being canonized. For some 2,000 additional martyrs, the beatification process is underway
Background
During the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, the Catholic Church in Spain supported and was strongly supported by and associated with the Spanish monarchy. The Second Spanish Republic saw an alternation of leftist and conservative coalition governments between 1931 and 1936. Amidst the disorder caused by the military coup of July 1936, many supporters of the Republican government pointed their weapons against individuals they considered local reactionaries, including priests and nuns.
A paradoxical case for foreign Catholics was that of the
History
During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, and especially in the early months of the conflict, individual clergymen were executed while entire religious communities were persecuted, leading to a death toll of 13 bishops, 4,172 diocesan priests and seminarians, 2,364 monks and friars and 283 nuns, for a total of 6,832 clerical victims, as part of what is referred to as Spain's Red Terror.[4]
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II beatified 473 martyrs in the years 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2001. Some 233 executed clergy were beatified by John Paul II on 11 March 2001.[5] In 1999 he also canonized a Christian Brother and the nine Martyrs of Turon, the first group of Spanish Civil War martyrs to reach sainthood. Regarding the selection of Candidates, Archbishop Edward Novack from the Congregation of Saints explained in an interview with L'Osservatore Romano: "Ideologies such as Nazism or Communism serve as a context of martyrdom, but in the foreground the person stands out with his conduct, and, case by case, it is important that the people among whom the person lived should affirm and recognize his fame as a martyr and then pray to him, obtaining graces. It is not so much ideologies that concern us, as the sense of faith of the People of God, who judge the person's behavior."[6]
Pope Benedict XVI
The beatification recognized the extraordinary fate and often brutal death of the persons involved. Some have criticized the beatifications as dishonoring non-clergy who were also killed in the war, and as being an attempt to draw attention away from the church's support of Franco (some quarters of the Church called the Nationalist cause a "crusade").
Responding to the criticism, the Vatican has described the October 2007 beatifications as relating to personal virtues and holiness, not ideology. They are not about "resentment but ... reconciliation". The Spanish government has supported the beatifications, sending Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos to attend the ceremony.[11] Among those present was Juan Andrés Torres Mora, a relative of one of the martyrs and the Spanish MP who had debated the memory law for PSOE.[12]
The October 2007 beatifications have brought the number of martyred persons beatified by the Church to 977, eleven of whom have been canonized as saints.[8] Because of the extent of the persecution, many more cases could be proposed; as many as 10,000 according to Catholic Church sources. The process for beatification has already been initiated for about 2,000 people.[8]
At 28 October 2007 beatifications, Pope Benedict underscored the call to sanctity for all Christians, saying it was "realistic possibility for the entire Christian people".[13] He also noted, "This martyrdom in ordinary life is an important witness in today's secularized society."[13]
Pope Francis
Controversy
A number of controversies have arisen around the beatification of some of these clerics. Some objectors oppose the notion of these priests being killed for mere religious hatred and, while not excusing their brutal murders, putting them in the context of the historical moment. Others question the appropriateness of beatification for some individuals who have less than saintly backgrounds. A third objection is the perceived partiality of the Church, where victims of the left have been proposed for beatification, while victims of the right have been ignored.
Of the first objection, one of the most notable cases has centered on Cruz Laplana y Laguna,
Another is Fulgencio Martínez, a priest in the village of La Paca in Murcia, who was shot after the uprising, who was reported by many locals to be closely allied to the local landowners. Over several days before the uprising, Father Fulgencio met with these landowners in the village casino—the hub of social life for the local elites in rural Spain—to organize support for the rebellion. He offered guns and money to anyone who would join an improvised militia. On 18 July, the day of the uprising, Father Fulgencio was among the persons who went through the village streets on lorries, rallying support for the uprising with shouts of "Viva el Ejército!" ("Long live the Army") and "Viva General Queipo de Llano!"[18]
Public statements by some of these clerics have also been widely publicised as a form of criticism against their beatification. Rigoberto Domenech,
Of the second, the controversy surrounding the beatification of
The third objection refers to the Church's attitude to victims of Nationalist repression. Regarding the attitude of the Vatican, Manuel Montero, lecturer of the University of the Basque Country commented on 6 May 2007:
The Church, which upheld the idea of a 'National
Crusade' in order to legitimize the military rebellion, was a belligerent part during the Civil War, even at the cost of alienating part of its members. It continues in a belligerent role in its unusual answer to the Historical Memory Law by recurring to the beatification of 498 "martyrs" of the Civil War. The priests executed by Franco's Army are not counted among them... Its selective criteria regarding the religious persons that were part of its ranks are difficult to fathom. The priests who were victims of the republicans are "martyrs who died forgiving", but those priests who were executed by the Francoists are forgotten.[21]
While much of Republican Spain was anti-clerical in sentiment, the
Individual cases
Martyrs of Turon
The martyrs of Turon were a group of eight De La Salle Brothers, and the Passionist priest who was with them, who were executed by striking miners at Turon in October 1934. This was nearly two years before the outbreak of the civil war, therefore they shall not be regarded as martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. They were beatified by Pope John Paul II on 29 April 1990, and were canonized by him on 21 November 1999.
Innocencio of Mary Immaculate
Saint
Jaime Hilario Barbal
Jaime Hilario Barbal, born Manuel Barbal Cosán, was raised in a pious and hardworking family near the Pyrenees mountains. Entered the seminary at age 12, but when his hearing began to fail in his teens, he was sent home. Joined the Brothers of the Christian Schools at age 19, entering the novitiate on 24 February 1917 at Irun, Spain, taking the name Jaime Hilario. Exceptional teacher and catechist, he believed strongly in the value of universal education, especially for the poor. However, his hearing problems grew worse, and in the early 1930s, he was forced to retire from teaching, and began work in the garden at the La Salle house at San Jose, Tarragona, Spain. Imprisoned in July 1936 at Mollerosa, Spain when the Spanish Civil War broke out and religious people were swept from the street. Transferred to Tarragona in December, then confined on a prison ship with some other religious. Convicted on 15 January 1937 of being a Christian Brother. Two rounds of volley fire from a firing squad did not kill him, possibly because some of the soldiers intentionally shot wide; their commander then murdered Jaime with five shots at close range. First of the 97 La Salle Brothers killed in Catalonia, Spain during the Spanish Civil War to be recognized as a martyr. He was beatified on 29 April 1990, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 21 November 1999.
Pedro Poveda
He was a priest, the founder of the
Passionist Martyrs of Daimiel
They were a group of priests and brothers of the
What, are you still smiling?[25]
With that he shot him at point blank range.
Eugenio Sanz-Orozco Mortera
Bartolomé Blanco Márquez
Bartolomé Blanco Márquez was born in
Victoria Díez Bustos de Molina
She was a religious, the member of the same congregation and also a Martyr of the Spanish civil war. She was beatified on 10 October 1993.
Pedro Asúa Mendía
Pedro was educated by Jesuits. Trained as an architect, graduating in 1915. he worked on schools, churches and houses for religious. He was ordained priest in the diocese of
Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila
Mariano was a
from 1924 until March 1930. He died on 13 August 1936. He was beatified on 23 March 2019.Joan Roig i Diggle
Joan was a young layperson of the
Isabel Sánchez Romero
Isabel was a religious from the Dominican Order. She died on 15 February 1937. She was set to be beatified on 19 September 2020 but it was postponed to 18 June 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
List of martyrs
Beatification
Date | Martyrs | Feast Day |
---|---|---|
29 March 1987 | María Pilar Martínez García and 2 companions | 24 July |
1 October 1989 | Niceforo Díez Tejerina and 25 companions | 23 July |
29 April 1990 | Cirilo Bertrán Sanz Tejedor, Inocencio Canoura Arnau and 7 companions* | 9 October |
Maria Merce Prat i Prat | 24 July | |
Jaime Hilario Barbal Cosán *
|
18 January | |
25 October 1992 | Braulio María Corres Díaz de Cerio, Federico Rubio Alvarez and 69 companions | 30 July |
Felipe de Jesús Munárriz and 50 companions | 13 August | |
10 October 1993 | Diego Ventaja Milán, Manuel Medina Olmos and 7 companions | 30 August |
Pedro Poveda Castroverde* | 28 July | |
Victoria Díez Bustos de Molina | 12 August | |
1 October 1995 | Anselmo Polanco Fontecha & Felipe Ripoll Morata | 7 February |
Martin Martinez Pascual | 18 August | |
Pedro Ruiz de los Paños Ángel and 8 companions | 23 July | |
Dionisio Pamplona and 12 companions | 22 September | |
Carlos Eraña Guruceta and 2 companions | 18 September | |
Ángeles Lloret Martí and 16 companions | 20 November | |
Vicente Vilar David | 14 February | |
4 May 1997 | Florentino Asensio Barroso | 9 August |
Ceferino Giménez Malla | 4 May | |
10 May 1998 | Rita Josefa Pujalte Sánchez & Francisca Aldea Araujo | 20 July |
María Gabriela Hinojosa Naveros and 6 companions | 18 November | |
María Sagrario Moragas Cantarero | 16 August | |
7 March 1999 | Vicente Soler Munárriz and 7 companions | 5 May |
11 March 2001 | José Aparicio Sanz & 232 companions | 22 September |
29 October 2005 | Josep Tàpies Sirvant and 6 companions | 13 August |
Ángela Ginard Martí | 30 August | |
28 October 2007 | 498 Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War | 6 November |
23 January 2010 | Josep Samsó Elias | 1 September |
17 December 2011 | Francisco Esteban Lacal and 22 companions | 28 November |
13 October 2013 | 522 Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War | 6 November |
1 November 2014 | Pedro Asúa Mendía | 29 August |
5 September 2015 | Fidela Oller Angelats and 2 companions | 30 August |
3 October 2015 | Pio Heredia Zubia and 17 companions | 4 December |
21 November 2015 | Frederic Tarrés Puigpelat and 25 companions | 6 November |
23 April 2016 | Valentín Palencia Marquina and 4 companions | 15 January |
8 October 2016 | Genaro Fueyo Castañón and 3 companions | 21 October |
29 October 2016 | José Antón Gómez and 3 companions | 25 September |
25 March 2017 | José Álvarez-Benavides de la Torre and 114 companions | 6 November |
6 May 2017 | Antonio Arribas Hortigüela & 6 companions | |
21 October 2017 | Mateu Casals Mas, Teófilo Casajús Alduán, Ferran Saperas Aluja and 106 companions | 1 February |
11 November 2017 | Vicenç Queralt Lloret, José María Fernández Sánchez and 58 Companions | 6 November |
10 November 2018 | Teodoro Illera del Olmo and 15 companions | |
9 March 2019 | Ángel Cuartas Cristobal and 8 companions | |
23 March 2019 | Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila | 13 August |
22 June 2019 | María Isabel Lacaba Andia and 13 companions | 6 November |
7 November 2020 | Joan Roig i Diggle | |
29 May 2021 | María Pilar Gullón Yturriaga and 2 companions | |
16 October 2021 | Juan Elías Medina and 126 companions | |
30 October 2021 | Francisco Cástor Sojo López and 3 companions | 25 October |
6 November 2021 | Benet Domènech Bonet and 2 companions | 6 November |
26 February 2022 | Cayetano Giménez Martín & 15 companions | |
18 June 2022 | Ángel Marina Álvarez and 26 Companions | |
Juan Aguilar Donis & 5 Companions | ||
Isabel Sánchez Romero | ||
22 October 2022 | Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio & 11 Companions | |
18 November 2023 | Manuel González-Serna Rodríguez & 19 Companions |
(*) means they are Canonized.
Canonization
Date | Martyrs |
---|---|
21 November 1999 | Cirilo Bertrán Sanz Tejedor and 7 Companions |
Innocencio of Mary Immaculate
| |
Jaime Hilario Barbal Cosán
| |
4 May 2003 | Pedro Poveda Castroverde |
See also
- Boxer Rebellion
- Martyrs of China
- Metrophanes, Chi Sung, New Martyr
- China Martyrs of 1900
- Martyr Saints of China
- Saint Innocencio of Mary Immaculate
- The Martyrs of Daimiel
- Blessed Bartolome Blanco Marquez, cooperator of the Salesian Fathers
- Suppression of Freemasonry(Spain)
- Martyrs of the Cristero War
- Drina Martyrs
- 233 Spanish Martyrs
- 498 Spanish Martyrs
- International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
References
- ^ a b Butler, Alban and Peter Doyle Butler's Lives of the Saints p. 169 Liturgical Press (February 2000)
- ISSN 1471-6941.
- ^ Stanley G. Payne, A History of Spain and Portugal Vol. 2 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1973), 649.
- ^ Julio de la Cueva, "Religious Persecution, Anticlerical Tradition and Revolution: On Atrocities against the Clergy during the Spanish Civil War" Journal of Contemporary History 33.3 (July 1998): 355.
- ^ New Evangelization with the Saints, L'Osservatore Romano 28 November 2001, page 3 (Weekly English Edition)
- ^ "NEW EVANGELIZATION WITH THE SAINTS". www.ewtn.com. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- Arizona Star. 12 June 2007. Archived from the originalon 3 December 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ a b c 500 Spanish martyrs to be beatified Independent Catholic News 10 October 2007 Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Familiares de los curas vascos fusilados por Franco claman contra el olvido"[1] On-line edition of El País 27 October 2007(in Spanish)
- ^ "Vatican's Plan to Beatify Spanish Clergy Divisive" by Jerome Socolovsky. Morning Edition, National Public Radio, 13 July 2007.
- ^ "Spain civil war 'martyrs' beatified". BBC News. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- Europa Press, 28 October 2007.
- ^ a b WINFIELD, NICOLE Vatican Beatifies 498 Spanish Martyrs Los Angeles Times (AP) 28 October 2007
- ^ "Archbishop will inaugurate the Year of Mercy with the opening of the Holy Door of the Cathedral". Archdiocese of Burgos. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "Mártires MSC". Facebook. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "MÁRTIRES DE ALMERÍA". Diocese of Almería. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- ^ Pardo Lancina, Víctor. El obispo combatiente El País, 29 October 2007
- ^ Dimas, Floren. Letter from the President of the Association for Historical Memory to the Editor of LA VERDAD DE MURCIA Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Casanova, Julián. "Guerra Civil y Religión" El País, 14 June 2006
- ^ Uno de los mártires de la Guerra Civil que el Papa beatificará fue un torturador 20minutos 17 October 2007
- ^ Manuel Montero. "Otros 'mártires' de la Guerra Civil" El País, 6/5/2007
- ^ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain; The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. 2006. London. pp.82-83
- ^ Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.677
- ^ Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. pp.251-252
- ^ Father Pablo García, C.P., Blessed Niceforo and Companions, Martyrs Archived 15 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Martyrs of Religious Persecution During the Spanish Civil War (first of sixty pages of martyrs with photos)
- The Persecution of Catholics in the Spanish Civil War
- From ZENIT news service article "A Martyr's Letter to His Girlfriend"
- Ariticle from Catholic News Service Archived 14 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine