Tomorrow, September 22, is the Feast of Blessed Juan Maria de la Cruz, the first SCJ to be named blessed. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II, along with 233 other martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, on March 11, 2001.
The young Mariano García Méndez was born on September 25, 1891, and already at the age of 10 he felt called to the priesthood. Ordained for the diocese of Avila, he later pursued his desire for religious life and professed vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart on October 31, 1926. Initially, Fr. Juan María (his religious name) was a teacher in the minor seminary. However, by 1929 he moved into fundraising to help support the Spanish Province.
In the midst of the turbulent years of civil strife in Spain from 1931-36, the Catholic Church in Spain suffered one of the most difficult persecutions in its history. Churches, seminaries, rectories, monasteries and convents, were sacked and destroyed. Thirteen bishops, 4,184 priests, 2,365 religious brothers, 283 nuns and thousands of lay Catholics were killed.
On July 23, 1936, Fr. Juan traveled to Valencia seeking refuge with one of the congregation’s benefactors. Walking from the train station he passed the church of “los Santos Juanes” in the center of the city. There he witnessed men desecrating and burning the church. Fr. Juan shouted in protest. When the men heard his shouting, they said to each other: “He is a reactionary.”
“No, I am a priest!” said Fr. Juan.
That was all that was needed to arrest him and take him to the Modelo jail in Valencia.
In jail, witnesses recalled that Fr. Juan María remained faithful to his religious call. On the night of August 23, 1936, Fr. Juan, together with nine other prisoners, was taken south of Valencia to be shot.
Click here to access resources about Blessed Juan Maria posted on the general website.
