History : Our Martyrs
Our Martyrs
Blessed Andrés Solá
Blessed Andrés Solá, C.M.F. - Biography
Martyrs of San Joaquín, Mexico - Beatification
The Martyrs of Barbastro
The event connected with their martyrdom occurred in 1936 in the city of Barbastro, Spain. The Claretian seminary had been established there in 1876; and the life of study and prayer went on peacefully all those years. Then on July 20, 1936, at 5:30 pm the peace was shattered, as a group of some sixty armed communists invaded the seminary and captured all the Claretians.
By quick thinking, Father Luis Masferrer was able to save the Blessed Sacrament from profanation by distributing it to the members of the community.
When the communists asked where the weapons of the community were hidden, Father Secundino Ortega took out his rosary and said: "The rosary is the only weapon we have."
The three priests in charge of the seminary - Fr. Felipe de Jesús Muñarriz (61). Fr. Juan Diaz (56), and Fr. Leoncio Perez (61)- were taken to the main jail and thrown in a cell fifteen feet by fifteen, crowded with eighteen other priests and Catholic laymen.
The other forty-eight Claretian were taken to a make-shift prison and confined to a room measuring twenty by eighty-two feet. Two seminarians-Jaime Falgarona and Atanasio Vidaurret- became sick and were taken to the local hospital.
The summer heat was oppressive, especially since the young Claretians did not want to take off their cassocks which were a symbol of their religious life. They had precious little water to drink, and none at all for washing. Their perspiration and the conditions of personal hygiene compounded their sufferings.
In addition they had to suffer the agony of mock execution-at least four times during their imprisonment. This was one of the ways their captors enjoyed a perverse amusement. In one of these mock executions, they forced Fr. Sierra to stand for five hours awaiting execution, until he fainted.
Another diabolical torment of their captors was to send in prostitutes to tempt the seminarians-but to no avail.
The guards tried to persuade the Claretain prisoners to give up their faith or their cassocks - sign of their religious life - this too in vain. The martyrs suffered these indignities until their deaths some weeks later.
During imprisonment the Claretians were forbidden to have the celebration of the Mass. However, thanks to some persons outside the prison they were able to secretly receive communion. One blessing they had: the guards did not take away their religious items: their rosaries, crucifixes, and prayer books.
The three priests confined in the main jail spent their time praying, confessing and preparing themselves for the possibility of martyrdom, offering up all their sufferings. What they feared, became a reality. On August 2, 1936, in the darkness of early morning, without trial or ceremony, these priests were taken out to the cemetery and shot by firing squad.
On Wednesday, August 12, 1936, in the dark hours of the morning some fifteen heavily armed communists burst into the makeshift jail demanding that the six oldest of the prisoners come forward. The Claretians who stepped forward were: Br. Gregorio Chirivás (56), Fr. Nicasio Sierra (46), Fr. Jose Pavon (35), Fr. Sebastioan Calvo (33), Fr. Pedro Cunill (33) and Subdeacon Wenceslaus Claris (29).
After tying the prisoners' hands behind their backs, the captors tired them in pairs and took them out and loaded them on a truck. They drove to a deserted spot outside of town and gave the prisoners a last chance to win freedom by renouncing their faith. Since no one accepted the offer, they were shot, dressed in their cassocks and praying till the end. It was 3:53 am. Their bodies were dumped in a ditch at the local cemetery.
The blood of the former martyrs was scarcely dried when once again the communists stormed into the prison looking for the next twenty victims. The Claretians who cam forward were Fr. Secundino Ortega (24), seventeen seminarians and two brothers, from 21 to 24 years of age. The seminarian Ramon Novich kissed the blood-soaked ropes before he was tied up with them.
This group also was carried off in a truck, in the dark, to the same place as the other martyrs. As they were lined up in the light from the headlights of the truck, with the rifles of the firing squad pointed at them, they were offered a last chance to join the communists. But the response from the prisoners, almost in unison was: "Long live Christ the King!" The shots rang out, making a new group of martyrs for Christ. It was August 13, 1936, at twenty to one in the morning.
At midnight , on the vigil of the Solemnity of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, the communists came to get the last prisoners in the jail. This group, led by Fr. Luis Masferrer (24), also had seventeen seminarians and two brothers, ranging in age from 21 to 25.
After taking the roll call, the communist leader named Torrente, toying with some of the bloodstained ropes, offered the prisoners the choice to joining the communists- that is, renouncing their faith and religious profession- for facing the firing squad. All and each of the Claretians chose to die rather than give up their faith. They were tied up so tightly that blood flowed down their wrists and hands. Before loading them on the truck, the communist Mariano Abad gave them a last chance to give up their faith. No one accepted. He began to curse and threatened to smash the head of anyone who would dare to shout "Long live Christ the King!" But as the truck started to move, the seminarian Faustino Perez shouted out loud: "Long live Christ the King!" and the others joined in. Abad stopped the truck and came and bashed the head of Faustino with his rifle butt. But when the truck started up again, the young Claretians again shouted out: "Long live the Immaculate Heart of Mary!" "Long live Christ the King!" "Long live the Pope!" "Long live the Assumption of Mary!"
The truck stopped at the desolate spot near the farm of Antonio Pueyo. The captors were in a furious mood, and threw the Claretians, tied in pairs, off the truck like sacks of potatoes. The young prisoners got themselves to their knees and began praying. They were given yet another chance to join the communists and give up their faith. Their response was: "Long live the Assumption of Mary!" They had in their hands their rosaries and crucifixes, and prayed until they were killed. It was Saturday, dedicated to Mary, and also August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption. What a precious gift for Mary was the martyrdom of these young Claretians.
The two sick seminarians who had been taken to the hospital were released on August 15 and taken to the jail. The following Tuesday, August 18, 1936, they were taken- again in the dark of night- and shot in the same way and in the same place as the other martyrs. This was the last part of the crown of fifty-one Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro.
Altogether there were 272 Claretain priests, brothers and seminarians martyred in Spain in 1936. The Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro are the first to be beatified.
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