On Saturday December 17 in Madrid, the beatification ceremony will take place of 23 martyrs: one, who\u00a0was a\u00a0husband and father,\u00a0and 22 Oblate religious and priests\u00a0who were put to death in 1936 because of who they were and what they stood for. In recent weeks we have been exploring the writings of Saint Eugene regarding the spirit of his youth ministry in Aix en Provence. This week I would like to commemorate the Spanish Martyrs as I\u00a0continue the theme of Eugene speaking to us through young people, but\u00a0 not through his physical words. Rather, it is all about the spirit of Eugene having\u00a0been transmitted to\u00a022 of these martyrs, which\u00a0enabled them to\u00a0live the fullness of their \u201coblation\u201d a century after him.<\/p>\n
Eugene\u2019s ideals for his youth in Aix continued in these Spanish martyrs because\u00a0they were young themselves. The youngest was 18, the next\u00a0oldest was\u00a019, and sixteeen others were in their twenties.<\/p>\n
In 1929, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate acquired a farm in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a town just outside Madrid, which become the Major Seminary. In 1936, the town had about 2,000 inhabitants and consisted of farmers and of labourers. The labour unions were able to penetrate the labour environment and began to spread republican and anticlerical slogans which had in their sights the Oblates, who were prominent in the pastoral ministry in the area.<\/p>\n
From 1931 onwards the anti-church climate saw violent outbursts in various areas in the vicinity of Pozuelo, but the Oblates continued with what they were doing. In the first half of 1936, the threats, \u201cDown with the clergy! Death to the friars\u201d were more commonly heard. Rumors were openly circulating that the Oblates were enemies of freedom, oppressors of the people, that they encouraged capitalism, and that they had an arsenal of hidden weapons in the scholasticate.<\/p>\n
All this was to lead to the death of 22 Oblates between July and November 1936…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Saturday December 17 in Madrid, the beatification ceremony will take place of 23 martyrs: one, who\u00a0was a\u00a0husband and father,\u00a0and 22 Oblate religious and priests\u00a0who were put to death in 1936 because of who they were and what they stood … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/blog-1-guys-and-house1.jpg\" "\\"Martyrs")
<\/a><\/p>\n