Pope calls newly beatified priests, nun 'heroic witnesses' of faith

Published: 2005-10-31

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Seven Spanish priests and a nun martyred in 1936 were "heroic witnesses of the faith" and showed the true meaning of priesthood and consecrated life, said Pope Benedict XVI. The pope prayed before the relics of the eight Spaniards Oct. 29 after they were beatified in St. Peter's Basilica during a Mass celebrated by Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes. The seven priests from the Diocese of Urgell were killed "during the religious persecution in Spain out of fidelity to their priestly ministry," the pope said. The seven beatified were: Fathers Jose Tapies Sirvant, Pascual Araguas, Silestre Arnau Pascuet, Jose Boher Foix, Francisco Castells Brenuy, Pedro Martret Moles and Jose Perot Juanmarti. Sister Maria de los Angeles Ginard Marti was a member of a religious order dedicated to eucharistic adoration; her devotion to Christ helped her "offer her life as a supreme expression of love for Christ," the pope said.

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