Blessed José Villanova was born in Turís Tormo (Valencia) January 20, 1902 and was baptized two days later. He took his vows in Carabanchel Alto (Madrid) on 25 July 1920, and in 1929 was ordained a priest and spent teaching. He had a long but fruitful apostolate is not, is that in Salamanca in Madrid.
In the early months of the revolution he lived in hiding in Madrid, so he could continue to exercise his apostolate. He was discovered September 29, 1936, arrested and shot.
He was Beatified October 28, 2007 as one of the Blessed Spanish Salesians, Martyrs of Madrid and Seville.
The new blessed Salesians, the former provinces of Madrid and Seville, were grouped under a single title: “Enrique Saiz and 62 companion martyrs.” Of them 22 were priests, 18 coadjutor Salesians, 16 students, 3 candidates, 3 and 1 co-operated. None had been involved in political or ideological struggles. Salesians practiced only the politics of the Our Father. They died only because they were religious. Today, they are presented as an example of courage and steadfastness in the faith. All died forgiving their persecutors, as did Christ on the cross. The Church honors their memory and presents them as a model of fidelity and consistency.
Source: Santi e Beati
Source: http://theblackcordelias.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/blessed-jose-villanova-september-29/#more-5277
Posts
The mass murder of clergy is a feature of the Spanish Civil War that has been forgotten. Wikipedia have a comprehensive list of the death toll on Spanish priests....heartbreaking to read:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror_-_Spain#Toll_on_clergy
Thank you Lxoa, and sorry if I am late at replying to your comment. I do not receive e-mails notifying me of new comments on this blog. I dont know why. People could be commenting and I wouldnt know.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your comment and link. I must look for a book that discusses the martyrs of the spanish civil war.
God bless
Stephen