Pope Leo XIV on Thursday authorized the promulgation of six decrees from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, paving the way for the beatification of the Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Elias Hoyek and 80 martyrs of the Spanish Civil War.
The decrees, approved during an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery, also recognized four new venerables: Salesian missionary Fr. Costantino Vendrame, Discalced Carmelite Br. Jean-Thierry of the Child Jesus and the Passion, Spanish religious Mother María Ana Alberdi Echezarreta, and Capuchin lay brother Fra Nazareno da Pula, affectionately remembered as “the saint with the sweets.”
The 80 martyrs of Santander were killed during the anti-Catholic persecution that accompanied the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Among them were 67 priests, three Carmelite religious, three seminarians, and seven laypeople. Their stories include prisoners thrown into the sea with their hands and feet bound and stones tied to their bodies, others who disappeared aboard the prison ship Alfonso Pérez, and others still who were executed, burned, or died in makeshift concentration camps.
Among this group is Fr. Francisco Gonzáles de Córdova, pastor of Santa María del Puerto parish in Santoña. Refusing to abandon his flock despite threats and prohibitions against celebrating Mass or administering the sacraments, he was eventually imprisoned aboard a ship converted into a jail. Even in captivity, he continued hearing confessions and leading the Rosary. Before his execution, he requested to be shot last so he could absolve and bless his companions. He was 48 years old at the time of his death.
The miracle recognized for the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek dates back to 1965 and concerns the healing of Nayef Abou Assi, a Druze officer in the Lebanese army who suffered from chronic bilateral spondylolysis. According to reports, he awoke completely healed after dreaming of the patriarch. Born in Helta, Lebanon, on December 4, 1843, Hoyek dedicated himself to promoting Lebanese independence from the Ottoman Empire and played a significant role in establishing the state of Lebanon in 1920. He is remembered for his commitment to dialogue and pastoral charity.
Among those declared venerable is Br. Jean-Thierry of the Child Jesus and the Passion, a young Cameroonian Discalced Carmelite who dedicated his suffering to prayers for vocations amidst his battle with cancer. Mother María Ana Alberdi Echezarreta, a Spanish nun, is recognized for her dedication to guiding her community through the challenges that followed the Spanish Civil War. Lastly, Salesian Fr. Costantino Vendrame, known for his service among the poor in India, and Fra Nazareno da Pula were also designated as venerable.
