498 Spanish Martyrs

They were from all parts of Spain, including the dioceses of Barcelona, Burgos, Madrid, Mérida, Oviedo, Seville, Toledo, Albacete, Cartagena, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Gerona, Jaén, Málaga and Santander.

Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, who gave the sermon during the beatification ceremonies, stated that these Martyrs all loved Christ and the Church more than their own life[5] and that the victims of terror forgave their killers, referring to Father Tirso as an example.

The logo of the beatification, because of the very large number of new Blesseds, had as its central theme a red cross, the symbol of love taken to the point of shedding blood for Christ.

[7] The 498 Martyrs were proposed in 23 separate causes; the Vatican lists them as: Bishops Diocesan Clergy Deacons Seminarians Roman Catholic Laity Marist Brothers of the Schools Order of Preachers (Dominicans) Third Order of Saint Dominic (Lay Dominicans) Dominican Nuns Dominican Sisters of Education of the Immaculata Dominican Sisters of the Anunciata Society of Mary (Marianists) Order of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians) Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers) Sisters Adorers, Handmaids of Charity and of the Blessed Sacrament Discalced Carmelites Franciscan Friars Minor Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary of Mallorca Franciscan Daughters of Mercy Carmelites of the Ancient Observance Carmelite Nuns of the Ancient Observance Salesians of Don Bosco (Salesians) Salesian Cooperators Carmelite Missionaries Carmelite Sisters of Charity “Vedruna” Order of Saint Augustine (Augustinians) A number of controversies arose around the beatification of some of these clerics.

[9] One of the most notable of these is Cruz la Plana y Laguna, Bishop of Cuenca, a well-known supporter of the monarchic regime, who since the proclamation of the Second Republic had carried out a number of notorious political, pro right-wing campaigns throughout the province and had established close contacts with military officials such as general Joaquín Fanjul, who would lead the Madrid military uprising on 18 July 1936 in support of Franco's coup.

[10] The controversy surrounding the beatification of Augustinian friar Gabino Olaso Zabala, listed as a companion of Avelino Rodriguez Alonso, has been different.

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.

[15] They were not included among the martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, since they were not murdered in hatred of the Faith (odium fidei), a prerequisite for the recognition of martyrdom.