Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed 50 new Catalan priests and faithful as martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, according to the Holy See's press office on Monday. All of the new martyrs died in various locations across Catalonia in 1936.
The Vatican explained that the recognition of martyrdom signifies death due to "hatred of the faith". This declaration follows an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
The Pope authorised the promulgation of the martyrdom of "Servants of God Estanislao Ortega García (in the world: Lorenzo) and his 48 companions, professed religious of the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Instruction of Saint Gabriel".
Long List of Recognitions
Manuel Berenguer Clusella, a diocesan priest, also received the same status. He, like the others, was "assassinated between July and November 1936, in various places in Catalonia (Spain), in the context of the same persecution," the Holy See stated.
These new martyrs join a long list of faithful and priests recognised by the Vatican since the 1980s. Since then, more than 2,000 Catholic faithful and priests have been elevated to this status. Their memory is celebrated annually in November, a tradition that started in 2010.
On the same Monday, Leo XIV also recognised the "offering of life" of the Servant of God Pedro Manuel Salado Alba. This lay faithful, a member of the 'Hogar de Nazaret' Association, was born in Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz, in 1968 and died in February 2012 in Atacames, Ecuador.
