Vatican recognizes martyrdom of Spanish missionaries in Georgia

Baltimore, Md., Jan 28, 2025 / 10:00 am

The Dicastery of the Causes of Saints has promulgated a decree recognizing that five Spanish Franciscans were killed “in odium fidei” (“in hatred of the faith”) in 1597 — specifically for defending the sanctity of marriage. Monday’s announcement paves the way for the beatification of the missionaries, who have been known collectively as the “Georgia Martyrs” for decades.

Members of the Guale tribe of Native Americans killed Father Pedro de Corpa, Father Blas Rodríguez, Father Miguel de Añon, Brother Antonio de Badajóz, and Father Francisco de Veráscola — all members of the Order of Friars Minor — during a four-day period in what was then Spanish Florida. The first martyr died on the feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14) in 1597. The third and fourth died on a Franciscan feast day — the feast of St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata (Sept. 17).

Martyrs for the Gospel and for the sacrament of marriage

Father de Corpa had angered Juanillo, a Christian convert and heir of the main tribal chief, after the Franciscan rebuked his decision to take on a second wife — thus violating both his baptismal and wedding vows. The convert recruited warriors to raid four Franciscan missions in Guale territory, according to the official website for the Georgia Martyrs. They struck down de Corpa after dawn on Sept. 14 at the mission of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe), which was near present-day Darien, Georgia.

The band of Guales then moved on to Rodríguez’s mission outpost of Santa Clara about 12 miles away near present-day Eulonia, Georgia. They killed him on Sept. 16. The following day, they murdered Añon and de Badajoz at their mission, Santa Catalina, on nearby St. Catherine’s Island.

Juanillo’s group arrived at Veráscola’s mission on Sept. 18. The Franciscan had just returned to St. Simon’s Island from St. Augustine, Florida, with supplies and was ambushed as he was exiting his canoe.

A protracted cause for the Georgia Martyrs

Spanish colonial authorities pursued an investigation into the death of the five Franciscans when they returned to reestablish the missions. However, after ministering to the local tribes for nearly 100 years, the Spanish abandoned these religious outposts in 1686 due to the increasing influence of the British, who had established their first permanent settlement in the region at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1670.

More than 250 years later, in 1941, the bishops of the United States petitioned Pope Pius XII to beatify 118 missionaries — including the five Franciscan martyrs. However, 39 years would lapse before Bishop Raymond Lessard of Savannah, Georgia, opened the local process for the cause with help from the Franciscans in the United States.

The Diocese of Savannah closed the local stage of the process in 2007. Fifteen years later, the Dicastery for the Cause of Saints “approved and advanced the cause of beatification for Friar Pedro de Corpa and Companions,” as reported in September 2022 by The Georgia Bulletin, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The Diocese of Savannah announced the approval on the 425th anniversary of de Corpa’s death.

Savannah bishop, Franciscans celebrate martyrs’ recognition

Reacting to the Vatican’s decision, current Savannah Bishop Stephen Parkes said that “from this day forward and until beatification, Friar Pedro de Corpa, Friar Blas Rodríguez, Friar Miguel de Añon, Friar Antonio de Badajóz, and Friar Francisco de Veráscola are entitled to the title of ‘venerables.’” He added that “details regarding the rite of beatification will be forthcoming.”

The Georgia prelate also expressed his gratitude to “the Holy Father; His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints; the Order of Friars Minor of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province; and all of those who have worked to promote the cause of the Georgia Martyrs for over four decades.” He concluded by invoking their intercession: “May Venerable Friar Pedro de Corpa and companions intercede for families everywhere and inspire husbands and wives around the world to live out the sacrament of marriage with love, truth, and fidelity.”

In 2019, the Diocese of Savannah had received a $75,000 grant from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to “produce and film a documentary on the history and martyrdom of Fray Pedro de Corpa and companions.” The resulting documentary, “For the Sake of the Gospel,” premiered on EWTN, the parent company of CNA, in February 2024.

Author Paul Thigpen, who has helped promote the cause of the martyrs for a quarter-century as founder of Friends of the Georgia Martyrs, celebrated the news from the Vatican: “It’s a great grace for the Catholics of Georgia and Catholics everywhere. Father Pedro and his companions served the Guale people heroically and offered up their lives in witness to the Gospel and the sanctity of marriage. We need that witness now more than ever.”

The international website for the Order of Friars Minor also heartily celebrated the news, noting in a statement how the “five venerable servants of God, all originally from Spain, responded generously to the Lord’s call to evangelize the peoples of America, even to the point of giving their lives.”

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