Mar 12, 2006 / 22:00 pm
As it celebrates the fifth anniversary of the beatification of 233 martyrs from 1936’s Spanish civil war, the Archdiocese of Valencia has distributed more than 2,000 relics for veneration in parishes and religious communities in more than 30 countries.
The archdiocesan delegation for the Causes of Saints noted that March 11 was the fifth anniversary of the largest collective beatification in history, which celebrated 233 martyrs of Valencia who gave their lives for the faith in 1936.
Requests for the relics came mostly from parishes but also from seminaries, colleges, and Christian communities, as well as from individuals and families “who desire to venerate our martyrs in their homes,” said archdiocesan officials.
Parishes in the Philippines, China, Venezuela, Mexico, Tanzania, Japan, Brazil, Australia and the United States were among those requesting the relics.