In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Father Refugio López Muñoz, who is overseeing the construction of the church, noted that these holy martyrs gave “until the last moment a brave and generous testimony of their faith in Christ Jesus and their love for the Church.”
The Facebook post by SAAX Architecture + Construction along with architectural renditions of the future shrine detail that “the total area of the complex is 1,023 square meters [11,000 square feet], which is composed of a central nave with a capacity for 285 people seated and at its maximum occupancy 745 people standing, a sacristy, a chapel for the Blessed Sacrament, an administrative area in which there are the stairs that allow access to the exterior mezzanine, which serves as an altar for the large celebrations to take place at the small plazas outside, a 330-meter [108-foot]-high bell tower, which seems to break up at its highest point and retains its firmness and solidity at its base, alluding to the holy martyrs who look like their faith was taken away, however it remains firm in Christ. At the end of the nave is the columbarium designed to be built in later stages.”
López noted that the shrine is being built in the place where these martyrs were killed and it is intended to be an important pilgrimage destination. Although the construction works are still in progress, “every month hundreds of people come to express their faith,” the priest said.
The shrine, he explained, is intended to be a place for “encounter with God, a place to renew the baptismal commitment; an encounter of conversion,” because “we are not simply building walls, but we want to lift up our hearts to God, Our Lord, through these persons who invite us to come to God.”
The priest also highlighted that the holy martyrs “are a testimony of joy and generosity” for today’s Christians, who inspire people “to make a difference, each person from their own home.”
Who were the holy martyrs of Durango?