Martyr laymen in Spain in the XX. century

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Blessed Juan Bautista Faubel Cano, pyrotechnician, martyr

Memorial: August 28

He was born on January 3, 1889 in Liria, Province of Valencia, Spain. In his childhood, he went to a public school, before he switched to a private education and learning the pyrotechnic profession from his parents. He married Patrocinio Beatriz Olba Martínez and had three children. Juan Bautista was well known for the quality of his work and also his upright character.

He went to Mass and received Communion daily. Being member of the Catholic Action, the Nocturnal Adoration Society and of other Catholic organizations as well as a Franciscan tertiary, he cared for the poor in his area.

When the persecution broke out, people advised him to go into hiding, but he replied that “if Our Lord needed his blood, he would have no reason to deny it to Him”. He hid two sisters from the San Miguel monastery in his house. 

Fearing for their safety, his family urged him to remove the crucifix from the dining room, he replied that the crucifix is the lord of the house. When a church was set on fire, he ran inside to rescue the Eucharist. 

He was arrested by militiamen on August 6, 1936. He was brought with other prisoners to a nearby area, where the militiamen made shots in the air and tortured him. 

In prison, he received Communion from and confessed to a priest imprisoned with him. On the evening before his execution, he told one of his employees who visited him that she should withdraw his money from his account for his family. He was brought out of prison on August 28, put into a bus with eleven of his companions, including two priests and brought out to be shot. He died holding a crucifix in his hand, shouting: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long live Christ the King!”). He was 47 years old. One his companions managed to escape and related the events.

He was beatified on March 11, 2001 by Pope John Paul II as one of the 233 martyrs of Valencia.

Church of the Assumption in Llíria.

Church of the Assumption in Llíria, Valencia province. Taken from here. License: CC-BY 2.0. Author: Josep Maria Viñolas Esteva.

Blessed Arturo Ros Montalt, agricultural worker, martyr

Memorial: August 28

Blessed Arturo Ros Montalt.

He was born on October 26, 1901 in Vinalesa, Province of Valencia, Spain. He started working at a young age on the farmland of his family. He founded the Catholic Action in his home village as well as a Catholic union for the workers of a local factory and encouraged the workers not to join a republican union. When religious education was banned in public schools, he worked to establish a Catholic school in the village. For two years, he was a council member in the town council of Vinalesa.

The boss of the local Committee of the Popular Front had him arrested for having “made the entire village and the surrounding area fools”. In prison, he was mistreated. On August 28, 1936, he was taken out of the village with 10 companions. He told them: “Let us prepare ourselves as good Christians for the reception of the baptism of blood”. Near Moncada, the murderers shot the 10 others first, after which they bound him and threw him into a working lime kiln. He was 34 years old.

He was beatified on March 11, 2001 by Pope John Paul II as one of the 233 martyrs of Valencia.

Barbastro, Plaza de la Candelera.

Barbastro, Plaza de la Candelera. Taken from here. License: CC-BY 2.0. Author: Jesus Abizanda.

Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla (“El Pelé”), mule-trader, first Romani saint, martyr

Memorial: August 2

Photo of Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla.

He was born probably in 1861 into a nomadic Romani family. As a child, he weaved baskets. He married Teresa Giménez Castro, but had no children aside from his adopted niece Pepita. Later in his life, after becoming a widower, he settled down in Barbastro as a mule-trader. People who knew him, testified to his love of neighbor and his honesty in his work.

Ceferino went to Mass daily and prayed the rosary often. He was a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and a Franciscan tertiary. Although he never went to school, he taught children, “gitanos” (Romani) as well as “payos” (non-Romani) catechism and prayers, telling them stories from the Bible.

He was a friend and advisor to the martyr bishop of Barbastro, Blessed Florentino Asensio Barroso.

The Diocese of Barbastro is also known as “martyr diocese”. According to the history professor Martín Ibarra Benlloch, an expert on the subject of the religious persecution in Barbastro and author of the book “Barbastro, una diócesis mártir (1931-1939)”, 84% of all diocesan priests were murdered. 51 martyr Claretians of Barbastro have been beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1992.

In July 1936, he saw a group of militiamen arresting a priest. He expressed his disapproval, for which the militiamen arrested him, too, and searching his pockets, they found a rosary. They brought him and the priest to a Capuchin convent converted into a prison. There, he constantly prayed the rosary, together with Pepita, who visited him in prison.

One of the members of the Revolutionary Committee in control of Barbastro, Sopena, who knew Ceferino, tried to intercede for him, but they answered him that if “El Pelé” wanted to be released, he must give up his rosary and stop praying. Sopena tried to persuade him to give him the rosary, telling him that otherwise, they would kill him, but Ceferino refused.

He was brought out to the cemetery on August 9, and shot by militiamen of the PSOE (socialist party) and the anarcho-syndicalist labor union CNT. He held up his rosary high and shouted: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”

He was beatified on May 4, 1997 by John Paul II, together with Bishop Florentino Asensio Barroso.

Part of a drawing of martyrs of Barbastro.

Some of the martyrs of Barbastro on an artwork.

Plaza del Convento in Carcaixent.

Plaza del Convento, Carcaixent, Valencia province. Taken from here. License: CC-BY 2.0. Author: Kiko Alario Salom.

Blessed Carlos Díaz Gandia, wicker furniture manufacturer and salesman, martyr

Memorial: August 11

Photo of Blessed Carlos Díaz Gandia.

He was born on December 25, 1907 in Ontinyent, Province of Valencia, Spain. He became the president of the Catholic Action youth, especially caring for the poorer young people. Personally, he was characterized as energetic. He started catechistic centers called “Casa Eusebi”, “San Vicente” and “Las Aguas”, where every Sunday, he taught in spite of a long commute on foot. He married Luisa Torró Perseguer, and had one daughter.

He was arrested on August 4, 1936 due to being the president of the catechetical center and detained in a church converted into a prison. On the evening of August 7, he was forced to dig a grave and he was buried alive. Next day, he was dug out, led back into the church, where they tied to him to a pillar and beat him. “We thought they killed you”, said his companions. He responded: “But don’t be surprised: didn’t you read the life stories of the Christian martyrs? Let us now pray the Holy Rosary.”

In the morning of August 11, he was taken in a car together with Blessed Rafael Alonso Gutiérrez and another man to a place near Agullent, where the killers told him:

– “Now you will be judged.”

– “There is no one to judge me more than God.”

– “You will end here if you don’t immediately renounce Him.”

– “You are mistaken, I will not end; when you take my life, then I’ll start to live. Woe to you if you don’t repent, for you will die forever!”

– “Fire!”

– “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”

He was 28 years old.

He was beatified on March 11, 2001 by Pope John Paul II as one of the 233 martyrs of Valencia.

A photo of Ontinyent in Valencia province.

Ontinyent, Valencia province from afar in 2011.

Taken from here. License: CC-BY 2.0. Author: Salva Barbera.

Blessed Francisco de Paula Castelló y Aleu, chemical engineer, martyr

Memorial: September 29

Photo of Blessed Francisco de Paula Castelló y Aleu.

Image taken from here, CC-BY-SA 4.0 by Foundling

He was born on April 19, 1914, in Alicante, Spain. He was an orphan from the age of 15, living with his aunt, who made his studies possible. He studied in the Jesuit-run Instituto Químico de Sarriá in Barcelona until the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1933. He was able to graduate from the Public University of Oviedo in northern Spain with an honors degree in Chemistry in 1934.

In 1935, he moved to Lleida started working as a chemical engineer at a company called Casa CROS SA, where he was promoted to a section manager. Francisco became a member of the Federation of Young Christians of Catalonia (FEJOC) and of the Catholic Action.  He engaged Mariona Pelegrí in May 1936. 

In July, he started his service at the military, but the civil war broke out. He was arrested on July 21 on the pretext of being a “f___ist” for having had scientific books in German and Italian in his home. His relatives tried to get him released, and one a relative of one of the revolutionary leaders promised to do that if Francisco would renounce his faith in writing. He refused.

He was brought in front of a “people’s court”. When he was accused of being a “f___ist”, he denied being politically active. Then, they accused him of being a Catholic, to which he agreed. The court threatened him with execution, but he answered that dying for Christ was the maximum joy man can have on earth and that if he would have a thousand lives, he would offer them all to Christ.

He was condemned to death. On September 29, 1936, he was led to the cemetery, singing the Creed in Catalan, and shot with six others. Francisco was 22 years old.

He was beatified on March 11, 2001 by Pope John Paul II as one of the 233 martyrs of Valencia.

alicante1_800

A view in Alicante.

Taken from here. License: CC0. Author: Sigurdur Josuason.

Resources

In general, (with the exception of Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla), there are short descriptions in Spanish about all of the saints in this article, in a PDF published by the Catholic Action of Toledo: here 

Blessed Juan Bautista Faubel Cano

Catholic Action of Toledo PDF (Spanish): here 

A detailed article about him, with witness accounts (Spanish): here 

Article on es.catholic.net: here 

Article as a part of a series on Spanish martyrs (Spanish): here 

Short article on a website of a Mexican parish (Spanish): here 

Blessed Arturo Ros Montalt

Catholic Action of Toledo PDF (Spanish): here 

Article about him and others on martires.centroeu.com (Spanish): here

Article as a part of a series on Spanish martyrs (Spanish): here 

Short article on a website of a Mexican parish (Spanish): here 

Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla

A short biography on vatican.va (Spanish): here 

An article about him on the website of the Franciscans (Spanish): here 

Article on es.catholic.net: here 

Article as a part of a series on Spanish martyrs (Spanish): here 

Interview with the history professor Martín Ibarra Benlloch about the persecution in Barbastro (Spanish): here 

Blessed Carlos Díaz Gandia

Catholic Action of Toledo PDF (Spanish): here 

Article on es.catholic.net (Spanish): here 

Short article on a website of a Mexican parish (Spanish): here 

An article on El Testigo Fiel (Spanish): here 

Blessed Francisco de Paula Castelló y Aleu

Catholic Action of Toledo PDF (Spanish): here 

Biography (Catalan): here

Article as a part of a series on Spanish martyrs (Spanish): here 

His last letters from prison (Spanish): here 

Apostolic letter Maxima beatitudo of Pope John Paul II ordering his beatification (Latin): here