SW News: The Church in Spain got 27 new Blesseds on Saturday, June 18, when a group of Dominicans martyred during the Civil War was beatified. During the ceremony that took place in the Cathedral of Seville, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, declared the martyrs Blessed, bringing them one step closer to sainthood.


It was during the horrible persecution unleashed in Spain during the 1930s that the 27 Dominicans were slain for their faith. The new Blesseds include 20 friars from the Almagro Monastery, five friars from Almeria, a lay Dominican tertiary also from Almeria and a Dominican nun who was murdered in Huescar. Archbishop Saiz Meneses of Seville and the general postulator of the Dominican Order undertook the presentation of the martyrs. Those who attended the ceremony included the Archbishop of Burgos, the prelates of Almeria, Canarias, Guadix, Leon, Palencia and the auxiliary bishop of Madrid. Also present were the Master General of the congregation and the Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of Hispania.

Cardinal Semeraro said in his homily that the new Blesseds belong to the “innocent retinue of martyrs” who praise God. He reminded the believers that as the thanksgiving Latin hymn “Te Deum” is intoned, it contains the line “Te martyrum candidatus Laudat exercitus", which means the “the white-robed army of martyrs praise You”. The top prelate said that the 27 Dominicans are part of the hundreds and hundreds of priests, monks, nuns and lay tertiaries who were killed in hatred of the faith.

Cardinal Semeraro also pointed out the martyrdom of the nun Sr Ascension de San Jose. She was cruelly tortured when she refused to trample on the crucifix and utter blasphemies. Ultimately, they killed her by smashing her skull. She gave up her soul by saying “Viva el Cristo Rey”, which means “Long Live Christ the King”. “Sister Ascension knew well that the blood of the Lamb confers innocence because it is the blood shed for the forgiveness of many sins,” said the Cardinal.