The Church will beatify next October 31 five Spanish Franciscan missionaries murdered in 1597 for defending Catholic doctrine on marriage. Known as the Georgia martyrs, the religious gave their lives during the evangelization of the indigenous peoples of the Atlantic coast of what is today the United States, then territory of Spanish Florida.
The ceremony will take place in Savannah, Georgia, and will be presided over by Cardinal Frank Leo, Archbishop of Toronto, who will represent Pope Leo XIV as papal legate. As confirmed by the Diocese of Savannah, the beatification Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. at the Savannah Convention Center and will be the first ceremony of its kind held in the southern United States.
The future blesseds are the priests Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón and Francisco de Veráscola, together with the lay brother Antonio de Badajoz, all belonging to the Order of Friars Minor.
Murdered for defending the indissolubility of marriage
At the end of the 16th century, the Franciscans were carrying out their evangelizing work among the Guale indigenous people, settled on the coast of present-day Georgia. The missionaries had learned the language of its inhabitants and established Christian communities in different villages of the region.
The conflict that would eventually cost them their lives began when Father Pedro de Corpa, assigned to the mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Tolomato, rebuked Juanillo, a baptized indigenous man who aspired to succeed the principal chief of the Guale.
Juanillo intended to take a second wife, following a custom accepted among his people. The Franciscan reminded him that, as a Christian, he must remain faithful to the requirements of marriage and that his decision was incompatible with the commitments assumed in baptism.
Far from accepting the correction, Juanillo gathered a group of warriors to put an end to the missionaries.
On September 14, 1597, Father Pedro de Corpa was murdered in Tolomato. Two days later, Father Blas Rodríguez died at the mission of Santa Clara de Tupiqui. On September 17, Father Miguel de Añón and Brother Antonio de Badajoz were murdered in Santa Catalina de Guale, while Father Francisco de Veráscola lost his life the following day at the mission of Santo Domingo de Asao.
A sixth Franciscan, Francisco de Ávila, was captured and subjected to mistreatment, but managed to survive and was released months later.
The testimonies collected after the murders pointed to the religious’ insistence on monogamous marriage as one of the main motives for the violence. A letter addressed to King Philip III in 1612 left record of this circumstance.
Four centuries later, the Church recognizes in those missionaries the testimony of men who preferred to give their lives rather than renounce proclaiming the teaching of Christ in its entirety.
A cause begun more than seventy years ago
The cause for the beatification of the five Franciscans began in 1950, when Father Marion Habig was appointed vice-postulator and the collection of historical documentation on the martyrs was initiated.
The diocesan investigation was formally opened in 1984, under the episcopate of Raymond W. Lessard, Bishop of Savannah, and concluded in March 2007, when the acts were sent to Rome.
On January 27, 2025, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree that officially recognizes that the five religious were murdered in odium fidei, that is, out of hatred for the faith.
The recognition of their martyrdom opened the way to beatification without the need to prove a miracle attributed to their intercession.
A beatification in the Jubilee Year of St. Francis
The ceremony next October 31 will also have special significance for the Franciscan family, as it takes place during the Jubilee Year convened by Leo XIV on the occasion of the eighth centenary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, which occurred in 1226.
The Bishop of Savannah, Stephen D. Parkes, has highlighted the importance of the beatification for Catholics in Georgia and its coincidence with the anniversary of the founder of the Order.
For his part, Cardinal Frank Leo has pointed out that the testimony of the martyrs reminds us that the Gospel has taken root in numerous peoples thanks to those who were willing to give everything for Jesus Christ, even their own lives.
«Their courage and charity continue to inspire the Church to proclaim the Good News with fidelity and constancy,» said the Archbishop of Toronto upon accepting the mission of representing the Holy Father.
The Diocese of Savannah has prepared a historical and artistic exhibition dedicated to the five martyrs, which can be visited during the beatification day. The following day, the solemnity of All Saints, a Mass of thanksgiving will be celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.
The celebration will also be an occasion to remember the presence of Spanish missionaries in the origins of North American Catholicism, a history that dates back long before the formation of the United States.
The five Georgia Franciscans will be raised to the altars more than four centuries after their death, recognized by the Church as witnesses of the faith and of fidelity to the doctrine of Christ on marriage.