Francisco de Paula Padilla Gutiérrez, a 45-year-old diocesan priest (native of Marmolejo), voluntarily offered to die in place of another prisoner and was shot on April 3, 1937. This heroic act, comparable to that of San Maximiliano Kolbe, has earned him the nickname of “el Kolbe jiennense”. His martyrdom took place in Mancha Real (Jaén), in the context of the religious persecution of the Civil War, and his beatification will now be celebrated by the Church as a testimony of supreme charity.
Parish priest of San Martín de Tours in Arjona, Father Padilla was arrested in 1936 by Republican authorities due to his status as a priest. He remained imprisoned for several months, first in Arjona and then in the Jaén prison, along with numerous religious and lay people detained “out of hatred for the faith”. In those extremely harsh circumstances, Francisco de Paula stood out for his spirit and for spiritually assisting his fellow captives. In the early morning of April 3, 1937, the militiamen proceeded with a “prisoner roundup” to execute several of them without prior trial.
When in the prison they called a father of six children named José to take him to the firing squad, the inmate broke down in tears imploring mercy for his little ones. It was then that the priest Padilla stepped forward and begged to take his place, willing to die for that anguished stranger. His gesture momentarily disconcerted the executioners, who finally agreed to the unusual exchange. Francisco de Paula Padilla was taken to the fatal destination in place of the other man. “Like Maximilian Kolbe, he offered his life in exchange for that of another prisoner”, documents the Positio of his cause. He was shot on the outskirts of Mancha Real along with a group of inmates, while the father of the family saved by him remained in prison, stunned by the sacrifice he had just witnessed.
The martyrdom of Father Padilla, sealed out of love for his neighbor, is one of the most emblematic among the new blesseds of Jaén. His name heads today’s list of the 124 martyrs approved by the Holy See, and his story has moved the faithful inside and outside Spain. The beatification of the “Kolbe jiennense” highlights the heroic charity of a shepherd who literally imitated Christ by giving his life for another. His testimony, almost eight decades later, continues to inspire believers to live the faith with that sacrificial love and to see in every needy person a brother for whom it is worth giving oneself.