Pope upholds martyrs as a comfort for today's persecuted Christians

By Linda Bordoni

Speaking after the recitation of the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis recalled the beatification in the Spanish Archdiocese of Seville of Fr Manuel Gonzalez-Serna and 19 of his companions during the Spanish Civil War.

“Manuel Gonzales-Serna, diocesan priest, and nineteen companions, priests and laypeople, killed in 1936 in the climate of religious persecution of the Spanish Civil War, were beatified yesterday in Seville,” he said.

Noting that these martyrs bore witness to Christ until the end, the Pope said “May their example comfort the many Christians who are discriminated against because of their faith in our times.”

Beatification in Seville

The beatification ceremony in the Seville cathedral was celebrated by the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro.

The new Blessed include 10 priests, one seminarian, and nine laypeople. All of them were killed out of hatred for the faith in 1936.

The only laywoman was a housewife who worked with the parish. Among the other laymen were lawyers, landowners, a pharmacist, a sacristan, and a carpenter.

Among the priests, many had already suffered violent anticlericalism before the outbreak of the civil war. Some were educators, others saw their churches burned.