Pope recognises martyrdom of 49 Spaniards during civil war

Vatican, April 27, 2026: Pope Leo XIV has authorised the promulgation of decrees recognising the martyrdom, offering of life, and heroic virtues of several Servants of God, thereby advancing their causes for canonisation.

During an audience on Monday with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV approved the promulgation of multiple decrees concerning martyrdom, the offering of life, and the recognition of heroic virtues of several men and women.

Among these is the recognition of the martyrdom of the Servants of God Stanislao Ortega García (born Lorenzo) and 48 companions, members of the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Instruction of Saint Gabriel, along with diocesan priest Emanuel Berenguer Clusella.

They were killed between July and November 1936 in various parts of Catalonia, Spain, during the same period of religious persecution, in hatred of the faith.

The Holy Father also recognised the offering of life of the Servant of God Pietro Emanuele Salado Alba, a lay member of the association “Hogar de Nazaret." Born in 1968 in Chiclana de la Frontera, Spain, he died in 2012 in Playa de Tonsupa, Ecuador.

Additionally, the Pope approved decrees recognising the heroic virtues of three Servants of God.

Maria Eletta of Jesus (born Caterina Tramazzoli), a Discalced Carmelite, was born in Terni, Italy, in 1605 and died in Prague in 1663.

Maria Teresa of the Most Holy Trinity (born Teresa Ysseldijk), a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Carmelites of the Divine Heart of Jesus, was born in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, in 1897 and died in St. Louis, United States, in 1926.

Maria Raffaella De Giovanna, founder of the Congregation of the Tertiary Minim Sisters of Saint Francis of Paola, was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1870, where she died in 1933.

The promulgation of these decrees represents progress in the respective causes for canonisation.

Courtesy: Vatican News