He was martyred in the early phase of the Spanish Civil War, and is the third Filipino to have been declared blessed by the Roman Catholic Church.

José María was born in Manila, Philippines on 5 September 1880 to Spanish parents Don Eugenio del Saz-Orozco de la Oz, the last Spanish Mayor of Manila, and Doña Felisa Mortera y Camacho.

A military coup in July 1936 precipitated the Spanish Civil War and the Terror Rojo that continued until the end of the conflict.

On 17 August 1936, José María was executed by a leftist faction at the gardens of the Cuartel de la Montaña, a military building in Madrid.

[3] On 27 March 2013, Pope Francis approved the findings of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that José María and 521 other companions were killed because of their Roman Catholic faith, clearing the way for their beatification.