Chaste Spouses Enter Bridegroom’s Royal Presence, Blessed Mary Jesus Masiá Ferragut and her Capuchin Poor Clare Companions

Martyrs of Valencia

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) there was a tremendous persecution of the Church. Today we celebrate the Martyrdom of Five Poor Clare Sisters, part of the Martyrs of Valencia:

Mariá Jesús (Mariá Vicenta Masiá Ferragud) (1882-1936)
Isabel Calduch Rovira (1882-1937)
Mariá Felicidad (Mariá Felicidad Masiá Ferragud) (1890-1936)
Mariá Verónica (Mariá Joaquina Masiá Ferragud) (1884-1936)
Milagro Ortells Gimeno (1882-1936)

In total the Church has declared 233 martyrs including clergy, religious and lay persons of the diocese of Valencia who were executed during the Red Terror of the Spanish Civil War. Some 6000 clergy and religious were executed in Spain during this period, of these over 2000 have been proposed for canonization. Up to the present over 1000 have been beatified and 11 canonized. They are regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d’état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña. Many in the Republican government believed that the Catholic Church was to blame for many of the countries problems, new laws were brought in that took away privileges from the Catholic Church, and attacks on religious buildings were not discouraged. Many saw this as an attack on religious freedom and even moderate Catholics who supported the republic were deeply unhappy with this doctrine. The nationalist coup was supported by the conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas, or C.E.D.A), monarchists known as Carlist groups, and the Fascist Falange (Falange Española de las J.O.N.S.). Following the military coup, working-class revolutions spread across the country in support of the Republican government, but were all brutally put down by the army. The war ended with the victory of the nationalist forces, the overthrow of the Republican government, and the founding of Authoritarian State led by General Francisco Franco. In the aftermath of the civil war, all right-wing parties were fused into the state party of the Franco regime.

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