Image from thegeorgiamartyrs.org
CV NEWS FEED // Pope Francis signed a decree Jan. 27 clearing the way for the beatification of five Franciscan friars who were martyred in 1597 while serving in a region that is now a part of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia.
The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints explains that the five friars, Fr. Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón, Antonio de Badajoz and Francisco de Veráscola, traveled from Spain to evangelize in North America, according to a news article from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
In September 1597, Fr. de Corpa told an Indigenous man named Juanillo, a baptized Christian who was heir to a Guale chiefdom, that he could not have two wives.
After this, Juanillo and others in his company killed Fr. de Corpa at a mission church, and then martyred the other four friars as well.
A date for the beatification ceremony is not available yet, according to the USCCB.
In a Jan. 27 statement, Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of Savannah invoked the intercession of the Georgia martyrs, asking them especially to support those living out the vocation of marriage: “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.”
More information about the Georgia martyrs is available here.
