The relics of the 80 martyrs were carried to the altar during the beatification Mass at Santander’s Cathedral of the Assumption on 7 November 2026. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, presided on behalf of Pope Leo XIV and formally proclaimed the beatification of priest Francisco González de Córdova and 79 companions.
The ceremony at the start of Mass followed a request from Bishop Arturo Ros. After a short account of the martyrs’ lives, Semeraro read the decree declaring them blessed. The choir sang as the congregation acclaimed the announcement. Bells rang while the painting of the new blesseds was unveiled. Artist Indalecio Sobrino made the work, and the relics were placed in a reliquary beneath it. Relatives, clergy and faithful filled the cathedral; queues had formed outside before Mass began. A thanksgiving Mass for the 80 new blesseds was scheduled for noon on Sunday, 8 November.
In his homily, Semeraro focused on Jesus’s words from the Gospel of Luke: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Speaking at the Mass, he described the meaning of the Cross in a translation from Spanish: “the faithfulness of a love that not even death can break.” He said Christ’s suffering did not extinguish his love or turn him towards hatred.
Semeraro connected that account to the 80 people recognised by the Church. Their circumstances differed, he said, but their fidelity rested on belonging to Christ. Vatican News identifies the group as 67 diocesan priests, three Carmelite religious and three seminarians, along with seven laypeople. They were killed amid anti-religious persecution during the Spanish Civil War, particularly in 1936-1937. Their deaths included executions and killings aboard the prison ship Alfonso Pérez; others were burned or drowned after being bound and weighted with stones. Semeraro also cited Pope Leo’s description of the new blesseds as part of the “immense multitude” of the Lord’s friends. The Santander ceremony follows a separate planned beatification for eleven martyrs at Madrid’s Almudena Cathedral, covered in a Madrid report.
Ros thanked the Pope and those who took part in the Mass. He said the martyrs bore witness to Christ as saviour and asked them to intercede for the faithful. More than 160 priests concelebrated with Semeraro. Around twenty cardinals, archbishops and bishops were also present.
