Madrid:

The Archdiocese of Seville in Spain will witness the beatification of twenty individuals who perished as a result of the persistent religious persecution that afflicted the nation from 1936 to 1939, during the Civil War.

Ten priests, one seminarian, and nine laypeople will be beatified at the event to be held on November 18. They were all martyred in 1936 due to religious animosity. Among the laity were attorneys, business owners, pharmacists, sacristans, and carpenters, and the only laywoman was a homemaker who worked with the parish.

At the cathedral of Seville, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, will preside over the beatification ceremony. Manuel González-Serna, Francisco de Ass Arias, Miguel Borrero, Mariano Caballero, Pedro Carballo, Juan Mara Coca, Antonio Jess Daz, Rafael Machuca, Salvador Lobato Pérez, and José Vigil are the priests being considered for beatification.

In addition to seminarian Enrique Palacios, the ceremony will also include members of the lay community, including Mara Dolores Sobrino, Augustin Alcalá, Mariano López-Cepero, Gabriel López-Cepero, Cristóbal Pérez, Manuel Palacios, José Mara Rojas, Manuel Luque, and Rafael Lobato.

Meanwhile, Archbishop of Seville José Angel Saiz Meneses emphasized the importance of being in the company of believers and thanking God for the example set by his brothers at a news conference announcing upcoming beatification.

Saiz emphasized that the martyrs taught us a valuable lesson by forgiving those who killed them since the word "martyr" is derived from the Greek word for "witness." Although we are not called to sacrifice our lives in the same way, we are urged to join in the Christian tradition of martyrdom.

Continuing, the archbishop spoke on how this feature of martyrdom is in keeping with a real Christian life that seeks purity, strives to offer one's will totally, and seeks to love God and others to the point of sacrifice.