LabLynx Wiki

Part of a series on
Persecutions of the Catholic Church
Overview Historical persecution of Christians Catholic Church persecutions 1939–1958 Eradication of the Church under Stalinism Eastern Catholic persecutions Persecution of Christians in the modern era
Roman Empire Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire Diocletianic Persecution
Neo-Persian Empire Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem
Byzantine Empire Massacre of the Latins
Muslim world Muslim conquests Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques Armenian genocide Assyrian genocide Greek genocide Kosheh massacres
Saudi Arabia Christianity in Saudi Arabia
Sudan Christianity in Sudan
Egypt Maspero demonstrations
Islamic terrorism Genocide of Christians by the Islamic State
Japan Martyrs of Japan
European wars of religion Thirty Years' War Reformation
Canada Canadian Martyrs 2021 Canadian church burnings
France Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution War in the Vendée Martyrs of Compiègne Massacre in the Rue Haxo
Mexico Cristero War Iniquis afflictisque Acerba animi Saints José Sánchez del Río Anti-clericalism in Mexico Miguel Pro
Spain Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War Red Terror Dilectissima Nobis Martyrs of Turon Martyrs of Daimiel Bartolomé Blanco Innocencio of Mary Immaculate José María of Manila 233 Spanish Martyrs 498 Spanish Martyrs 522 Spanish Martyrs Burning of convents in Spain (1931)
Netherlands Titus Brandsma
Germany Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church in Germany Mit brennender Sorge Alfred Delp Alois Grimm Rupert Mayer Bernhard Lichtenberg Max Josef Metzger Karl Leisner Erich Klausener Kulturkampf
China Martyr Saints of China Auguste Chapdelaine Persecution of Christians in China Ad Sinarum gentem Cupimus Imprimis Ad Apostolorum principis Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei Beda Chang Dominic Tang
Vietnam Vietnamese Martyrs Andrew of Phú Yên Nguyễn Văn Thuận Trương Bửu Diệp Marcel Nguyễn Tân Văn
Poland Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church in Poland Maksymilian Kolbe Polish anti-religious campaign 1945–1990 Stefan Wyszyński 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs Policies In Poloniae annalibus Gloriosam Reginam Invicti athletae Jerzy Popiełuszko
Eastern Europe József Mindszenty Eugene Bossilkov Severian Baranyk Josef Beran Drina Martyrs Zynoviy Kovalyk Aloysius Stepinac Meminisse iuvat Anni sacri Sára Salkaházi Walter Ciszek Pietro Leoni Theodore Romzha
India Violence against Christians in India 2008 attacks on Christians in southern Karnataka Devasahayam Pillai
El Salvador Four U.S. missionaries Ignacio Ellacuría Rutilio Grande Ignacio Martín-Baró Segundo Montes Óscar Romero 1989 murders of Jesuits
Nigeria Religious violence in Nigeria
Guatemala Stanley Rother
Great Britain and Ireland Anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom List of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation Forty Martyrs of England and Wales Irish Catholic Martyrs Dissolution of the Monasteries Penal Laws Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
United States James Coyle Know Nothing The Menace Oregon Compulsory Education Act Pierce v. Society of Sisters Philadelphia nativist riots Ursuline Convent riots
Philippines Lorenzo Ruiz Pedro Calungsod Gomburza
Turkey Murder of Andrea Santoro
North Korea Catholic Church in North Korea
Norway Anti-Catholicism in Norway
Russia Martyrs of Pratulin Conversion of Chelm Eparchy Anti-Catholicism in the Soviet Union Eastern Catholic victims of Soviet persecutions
Catholicism portal

The 233 Spanish Martyrs, also referred to as The Martyrs of Valencia or Jose Aparico Sanz and 232 Companions, were a group of martyrs from the Spanish Civil War, who were beatified in March 2001 by Pope John Paul II. This was the largest number of persons beatified at once up to that time. They originated from all parts of Spain but mostly served and died in the diocese of Valencia.

The 233 martyrs were clergy, religious and lay persons of the diocese of Valencia who were executed during the Red Terror of the Spanish Civil War. Some 6,000 clergy and religious were executed in Spain during this period; of these over 2,000 have been proposed for canonization. They are regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War.

The 233 martyrs were made up of 16 separate causes, mostly groups but also some individuals who have been proposed for canonization. The earliest cause was opened in 1952 (that of Tomas Sitjar Fortia and his companions). Most causes were opened in the 1950s, though none were accepted by the CCS until 1990. The most recent cause (Maria Giner Gomis) was opened in 1995 and completed in five years. This was not the first group of Spanish martyrs beatified by John Paul II, though it was the largest up to that time.

The beatification of the entire group was enacted at a solemn liturgy celebrated in Rome on 11 March 2001, presided over by Pope John Paul II. In his homily he preached on the Transfiguration and pointed to the example of the martyr's sacrifice, and urged the church in Spain to be worthy of their example. He observed that they were men and women of all ages, and states (clergy, religious, lay persons) and that they had been killed for professing their faith.^[1] He pointed out that the martyrs had died forgiving their enemies, and expressed the hope that their example would help to remove the end of hatred and resentment still felt in Spain from those times.^[2]

The issue of the Spanish martyrs is controversial, not least because of the Spanish churches identification with the Nationalist cause during the civil war. However John Paul pointed out, generally and in specifics, that those who died in these cases “were not involved in political or ideological struggles nor did they want to be concerned with them” and that “they died solely for religious motives”.^[3]

John Paul II made special mention of Maria Teresa Ferragud, one of the lay companions from Valencia; an 83-year-old woman, she was executed along with her four daughters (companions of Aurelio Ample Alcaide), all nuns in contemplative orders.^[4] He also made special mention of Francesco Castello Aleu, a 22 yr old layman, and German Gozalba, at age 23 just 2 months into the priesthood.^[4] He also made reference to Consuela and Maria Dolores Aguiar-Mella, two lay companions of Maria Baldilou Bullit, and the first people from Uruguay to be beatified.^[5]

The 233 martyrs were advanced in 16 separate causes :

• Jose Aparicio Sanz and 73 companions, clergy and laypersons of the Diocese of Valencia, including Amalia Abad Casasempere
• Jacinto Serrano Lopez and 19 companions of the Dominican Order
• Pascual Fortuna Almela and 4 companions of the Friars Minor
• Alfonso Lopez Lopez and 6 companions of the Friars Minor Conventual
• Aurelio Ample Alcaide and 16 companions of the Friars Minor Capuchin,^[6]
• Josefa Masia Ferragud, a nun of the Discalced Augustinians
• Tomas Sitjar Fortia and 11 companions of the Society of Jesus
• Jose Calasanz Marques and 28 companions of the Salesian Society, and two Daughters of Mary
• Vicente Cabanes Badenas and 18 companions of the Third Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
• Mariano García Méndez (Juan María de la Cruz), a priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
• Leonardo Olivera Buera and 5 companions of the Christian Brothers, also 24 Carmelite Sisters of Charity
• Maria Ricart Olmos, a nun of the Servite Order
• Maria Baldillou Bullit and 5 companions, nuns of the Sisters of the Pious Schools, and 2 laywomen of that order
• Josefa Ruano Garcia and Dolores Puig Bonany, nuns of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly
• Victoria Quintana Argos and 2 companions of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family
• Maria Giner Gomis, a Claretian Sister
• Francisco Castello y Aleu, layman of Catholic Action in Lleida

• Martyrs of Valencia, at gcatholic
• Homily by John Paul II

• Martyrs of Spain, index page