Pope Leo XIV Declares 174 Catholics Who Died in WWII and the Spanish Civil War as Martyrs

Vatican City, June 21, 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared 174 Catholics as martyrs through a decree signed on Friday, June 20, during an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, at the Vatican. Among those recognised, 50 were French Catholics who died in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, and 124 were Spanish Catholics killed during the Spanish Civil War. By declaring them martyrs, the Church acknowledges their deaths as acts of witness to the faith.

The French martyrs, mostly young members of Catholic Action movements, clergy, and seminarians, died between 1944 and 1945 in Nazi camps such as Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau. Many were arrested for their ministry and resistance under German occupation, with several succumbing to typhus, tuberculosis, or execution. The Vatican affirmed that their deaths were due to “odium fidei”, or hatred of the faith.

Notable among them were Father Raimond Cayré, a 28-year-old diocesan priest who died of typhus in Buchenwald in October 1944; Father Gerard Martin Cendrier, a 24-year-old Franciscan who perished in the same camp in January 1945; Roger Vallée, a 23-year-old seminarian who died in Mauthausen in October 1944; and Jean Mestre, a 19-year-old lay member of the Young Christian Workers, who was killed in Gestapo custody in May 1944.

Of the 50 French martyrs, over 80% were under 30 years old, including Catholic Scouts and members of Catholic Action. Their clandestine efforts to minister to French labourers forced into Germany under the Vichy regime marked them as enemies of the Nazi regime.

Among the 124 Catholics from Spain declared martyrs by Pope Leo XIV, all were from the Diocese of Jaén and were killed between 1936 and 1938 during the Spanish Civil War, a period marked by widespread anti-Christian violence. They included 109 diocesan priests, 14 lay Catholics, and one religious sister. According to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, their deaths were driven by "anti-religious and anti-Christian sentiments" and thus meet the Church’s criteria for martyrdom.

The martyrs from Jaén join the ranks of more than 2,000 individuals killed in the Spanish Civil War who have already been beatified by the Catholic Church. A beatification ceremony for the newly recognised martyrs will be held in Jaén on a date yet to be announced.

In addition to the martyrdom declarations, Pope Leo XIV approved a miracle attributed to Father Salvador Valera Parra, a 19th-century Spanish priest known for his charitable work during epidemics and natural disasters. The miracle occurred in 2007 in a neonatal intensive care unit at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, when a premature baby named Tyquan, born without signs of life, suddenly revived after prayers for Valera Parra’s intercession. The child later developed without any lasting health issues, defying medical expectations.

The recognition of this miracle clears the path for Father Valera Parra’s beatification. Born in 1816, he is remembered for performing several works of charity, including founding, along with St. Teresa Jornet, a home for the elderly.

During the same audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV also declared four individuals venerable for their heroic virtue. They are:

• João Luiz Pozzobon (1904–1985), a Brazilian deacon and founder of the Schoenstatt Movement’s Pilgrim Mother Rosary Campaign

• Anna Fulgida Bartolacelli (1923–1993), an Italian laywoman who suffered from dwarfism and rickets and was a consecrated member of the Silent Workers of the Cross, living a life of service to the sick

• Raffaele Mennella (1877–1898), an Italian cleric who died of tuberculosis at age 21

• Teresa Tambelli (1884–1964), a Daughter of Charity who ministered to the poor in Cagliari, Italy

These developments mark a significant moment in the Church’s ongoing recognition of faith, sacrifice, and holiness in the modern era.

Courtesy: Catholic News Agency