Friday, November 6, 2009

Marianist Martyrs of Madrid




MADRID MARIANIST MARTYRS - NOVEMBER 6

This feast commemorates the the martyrdom of our four Marianists: Miguel Léiber Garay, SM; Florencio Arániz Cejudo, SM; Joaquín Ochoa Salazar, SM; and Sabino Ayastuy Errasti, SM all martyred during the relgious persecution in Spain in 1936.
498 Spanish martyrs were proclaimed blessed and marked the largest number to be beatified simultaneously in the history of the Church. Some fifty thousand people gathered in St. Peter's Square for the celebration of the martyrs.
"The message of the martyrs is a message of faith and love," affirmed Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for the Saints' Causes.
Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on October 28, 2007