Astorga, Spain, Jun 1, 2021 / 16:01 pm
Three laywomen who were martyred near Astorga in 1936 amid the Spanish Civil War were beatified on Saturday.
Pilar Gullón, Olga Monteserín, and Octavia Iglesias were beatified May 29 in Astorga Cathedral. All three were volunteer Red Cross nurses. When the Somiedo hospital to which they were assigned came under attack, they didn’t flee, nor during their captivity did they renounce their faith despite the outrages they were subjected to by the Republican militiamen. They were briefly imprisoned, and then executed Oct. 28, 1936.
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Nationalist forces, led by Francisco Franco, and the Republican faction. During the war, Republicans martyred thousands of clerics, religious, and laity; of these, 11 have been canonized, and more than 1,900 beatified.
Bishop Jesús Fernández González of Astorga said a Mass of thanksgiving for the beatification at St. Peter’s parish in Ponferrada May 30.