Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Agenzia Fides) - The beatification of 498 Spaniards martyred for love of Jesus Christ during religious persecution in the 1930s will take place in Rome on 28 October this year. The beatification was announced by the Spanish Bishops on April 27 at the end of their plenary assembly (see Fides 30/4/2007). For the event a dossier, prepared jointly by two Offices of the Spanish Bishops, the Office for the causes of Saints and the Office for Information, is available at http://www.conferenciaepiscopal.es/santos/martires.htm. In the dossier we read "The beatification will help people not to forget the great sign of hope of the testimony of martyrs ", because "martyrs who died while forgiving are the best example for us to grow in a spirit of reconciliation".
Among the 498 to be beatified, 2 bishops respectively of Cuenca and Ciudad Real, 24 diocesan priests, 462 members of institutes of Consecrated Life, 1 deacon, 1 sub-deacon, 1 seminarian and 7 lay people. The 462 members of institutes of Consecrated Life, men and women, belonged to the following Orders: Augustians, Dominicans, Salesians, Brothers of Christian Schools, Marist Teaching Brothers, Discalsed Carmelites, Franciscans, Adorers and Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and Charity, Carmelite Sisters, Dominican Sisters, Trinitarian Sisters, Carmelite Missionary Sisters, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Marianists, Missionary Daughters of the Heart of Mary, Franciscan Daughters of Poverty, Carmelite Sisters of Charity, Institute of Enclosed Trinitarian Sisters, Carmelite Sisters of the Presentation
Most of the martyrs were young in age: 145 were aged between 20 and 30 years; 97 between 30 and 40 years, 107 between 40 and 50 years, and 72 between 50 and 60 Years. All together 421 were in their youth or maturity, more than 20 under 60 years. The extremes were 18 young people aged 16 - 19 and 15 older people aged 70 and 78 years. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 14/6/2007; righe 22, parole 313)
