Pope Francis calls for applause for 20 martyrs of Spanish Civil War beatified in Seville

By Walter Sánchez Silva

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 20, 2023 / 18:30 pm

At Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Francis called for applause for the 20 martyrs beatified in the Seville cathedral, priests and laypeople who were murdered out of hatred for the faith during the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

“Yesterday in Seville, Manuel González Serna, a diocesan priest, and 19 fellow priests and laymen murdered in 1936 in the climate of religious persecution of the Spanish Civil War were beatified,” said the Holy Father after praying the Angelus on Sunday at the Vatican. 

“These martyrs bore witness to Christ to the end. May their example strengthen so many Christians who in our time are discriminated against for their faith. “Applause for the new blesseds!” Pope Francis exclaimed.

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, offered the Nov. 18 beatification Mass of the 20 martyrs: 10 priests, one seminarian, and nine laity — eight men and one woman.

According to the Archdiocese of Seville, they were murdered “after being arrested and without prior trial in the climate of persecution of anyone who professed to be a member of the Catholic Church.”

The new blessed are Father Manuel González-Serna Rodríguez, María Dolores Sobrino, Father Francisco de Asís Arias Rivas, Father Juan María Coca Saavedra, José María Rojas, Manuel Luque Ramos, Agustín Alcalá Heinke, Father José Vigil Cabrerizo, and Father Antonio Jesús Díaz Ramos.

Also beatified were: Enrique Palacios Monrabá, Manuel Palacios Rodríguez, Mariano López-Cepero y Muru, Gabriel López-Cepero y Muru, Cristóbal Pérez Pascual, Father Mariano Caballero Rubio, Father Pedro Carballo Corrales, Father Miguel Borrero Picón, Father Salvador Lobato Pérez, Rafael Lobato Pérez, and Father Rafael Machuca y Juárez de Negrón.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com