Valencia, Fla., Feb 22, 2008 / 06:53 am (CNA).- The AVAN news agency reported this week that several parishes, lay institutions and schools in Valencia, Spain have asked the archdiocese for relics of Blessed Pablo Melendez (1876-1936), a local journalist who died for the faith during the religious persecution of 1936 in Spain.

Pablo Melendez was born in Valencia in 1876, the son of a police officer.  He was orphaned at the age of 14 and helped his mother raise his six brothers and sisters.  He was a brilliant student, a dedicated catechist and profoundly devoted to Eucharistic adoration.
He eventually became director of the archdiocesan Catholic newspaper for six years, held various posts in city government and was an advisor to several archbishops. 

On September 25, 1936 he was detained and taken to a prison in Valencia, where he was held until December 24, when he was killed alongside his son Alberto.  He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001, together with 233 other Spanish martyrs and his relics are venerated in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Cathedral of Milan and in other churches in the Italian regions of Piedmont and Tuscany.

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