Bro. Mauricio Íñiguez de Heredia and his 23 Companions
Saint John of God inspired and founded the Hospitaller Order in Granada, Spain, in 1539. Since then, the Order has experienced so many events, and endured many ups and downs, some positive, but others disastrous. On the positive side, in brief, is the fact that it has survived until 2013 in a good state of health. The disasters have been of various kinds: we might mention in particular the ‘Desamortizaciones’ in Spain, when the Church’s assets were confiscated in 1798, 1835 and 1850. And later on, the Spanish Civil War in 1936-1939. And that conflict forms the background to the account that follows.
The war was disastrous for many political, economic, and social reasons, and on account of the wrongs, injustices, and misunderstandings, on both sides. On the part of everyone. And its deprived the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God of 95 Brothers, all of whom were murdered.
At the outbreak of the civil war, one side embarked on widespread religious persecution. Monks, nuns and the secular clergy in general were marked out for annihilation - to be slaughtered to be wiped out.
Including the Brothers of St John of God. It was child’s play to find them, seize them, detain them, imprison them.
True to their vocation as Hospitallers, the Brothers resolved to stay
by the
bedside of the sick, keeping faith
with their vocational commitments and their vow to care for the sick, even at the cost of their
own lives.
Their superiors gave them the chance to quit their posts and return to their loved ones if they so wished. But all of them chose to honour their vow of Hospitality which they had uttered publicly, and to which they were fully committed, without qualification. And so they remained by the bedside of the sick. And that is where they were found. They were picked up they shared supper with the mentally ill patients at Ciempozuelos and Carabanchel Alto, Madrid, Málaga and Sant Boi, Barcelona; or as they were nursing and caring for the crippled and paralysed children suffering from osteomyelitis, Pott’s disease, scoliosis and rickets in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Calafell, Tarragona, Manresa, and Barcelona. All the Brothers proved themselves to be living examples of the theological virtues of faith, hope and love. All of them surrendered their lives, forgiving their persecutors, and bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel.
As soon as the Spanish Civil War was over, the Order of St John of God presented them to the Church,with a petition to begin the formal proceedings leading to their beatification, if appropriate, as witnesses of God and Hospitality, thereby demonstrating recognition and gratitude to them for the courage and the heroic decision that each and every one of them had taken. And to facilitate this work, the 95 Brothers were divided into two groups: one group of 71 Hospitaller Martyrs of the 20th century, who were later beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 25, 1992. The other 24 Martyr Brothers are the ones we are concerned with today, looking forward to their beatification on October 13 this year, at Tarragona. These 95 Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of God testified to, and manifested truth, mindful that the victory of truth is always charity.
The blood of so many of our martyrs, and those from other Religious and Church institutions, who were seized and murdered on these grounds alone, and for no good reason, attracts our admiration for them and, God willing, will enable them to be a source of stimulation and gratitude and, will hopefully attract others to join the ranks of those who are inspired by the Hospitaller generosity of Saint John of God.
THE ST JOHN OF GOD HOSPITAL AT MANRESA, BARCELONA
Let us try, in very broad outline, to find out more about these 24 Brothers for whose example we have such admiration. A first group of 2 Brothers were murdered, after being taken away from what was then the very small Hospital San Juan de Dios in Manresa, Barcelona. That Hospital had been built practically in the shadow of the mountain and monastery/shrine of Montserrat only a few years earlier, in 1932, thanks to a donation from Francisco de Paula March Muntada and the enthusiasm of the Provincial, Blessed Guillermo Llop. It had been built to care for children suffering from rickets, and the consequences of osteomyelitis, Pott’s disease and scoliosis.
Brother
Mauricio IÑIGUEZ de HEREDIA ALZOLA
He was born at Dallo, Álava, to Remigio and Gregoria. Widowed while still very young, Remigio left his two sons at a tender age to be cared for by his parents, and joined the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God. Mauricio followed in his father’s footsteps by entering the Hospitaller Order on reaching the canonical age. His younger brother, of whom we shall speak shortly, followed him. He served in various Houses of the Order, and in 1936 was posted to Manresa. Here, he was responsible for alms-raising to support the hospital. After the Brothers’ expulsion from the hospital he went to Barcelona where some of his relatives lived, and took a room in a cheap boarding house in Calle Tallers. It was here that he, together with Brother Luis Beltrán, continued to live a life of piety as far as they could, as if they were still living in a Community. The two Brothers were arrested in Plaza de la Universidad, close to the boarding house, before being charged, and then shot in cold blood without a trial, simply for being Religious. Mauricio was 59 years old.
Brother Luis Beltrán
SOLA JIMENEZ
He was born at Arnunarizqueta, Navarre, in 1899, to Florencio and Perpetua. At the age of 14 he went to live at Tafalla, Navarre. He entered the Order in 1918, and worked in various Houses in the Order. He eventually went to Manresa, Barcelona. He was a devout, hard-working and discreet man. After the Brothers had been expelled from the Hospital he travelled to Barcelona accompanied by Brother Mauricio Iñiguez, with whom he was arrested and executed. He was
37 at the time of his death.
THE SAN RAFAEL MENTAL HOSPITAL, MADRID
Built in the Chamartín district in Madrid, for poor disabled and crippled children during the lifetime of Brother St Benedict Menni, it had the capacity to care for 200 inpatients, and an outpatient unit offering the same specialisms as the Hospital, specifically for the people living in the poor and rural environs. This Hospital was regularly visited by the FAI, CNT and UGT. After the Brothers had been expelled, the patients were moved to other institutions. The building was turned into a women’s prison, and in mid-1939 it was finally closed.
Brother Trinidad ANDRÉS
LANAS
He was born on February 7, 1877 to Ramón and Isidra. When the war broke out, Brother Trinidad was working at the Mental Hospital, in the clinic for the poor, and as the bursar. After the expulsion of the Community from the Hospital on October 25, 1936, he stayed in various places in Madrid, and armed with a pass issued by the Vasco government he was able to move around the city fairly freely. This enabled him to visit and care for other Brothers from his Community, supporting them both financially and by fostering fraternal relations, roughly until the first few days of February 1937. Then, one day, he disappeared without trace. It was assumed that he had been executed on a piece of wasteland on February 5, 1937. Following investigations in various offices, the photograph of his dead body was found at the Security Police HQ. He was also identified by the clothes he normally wore. He was buried in the Este, or Almudena, cemetery, where he remained until the 14th of that month.
CALAFELL HOSPITAL, TARRAGONA
This hospital was founded to support, expand and improve the services provided by the Barcelona Mental Hospital, and offered the same health care that was provided by the Condal mental hospital. It was inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII in 1929, forty metres from the Mediterranean coastline. Every single member of the Community was murdered, except four professed Brothers and four young novices whom the militiamen left alive to look after the patients.
Brother Matías MORIN
RAMOS
He was one of the four professed Brothers left alive by the militiamen to care for the sick. Before these events he had been in charge of one of the sick children’s wards. He was born at Salvatierra de Tormes, Salamanca, to Juan and Prudencia. On being called up for military service he was sent by the Militia Army as a paramedic in Madrid. When he tried to move over to the Nationalists’ side, he was arrested and imprisoned, and after confessing that he was a member of the Order of Saint John of God, he was put to death, crying out Long Live Christ the King! That was in August 1937.
THE SAINT JOHN OF GOD MENTAL HOSPITAL, VALENCIA
Two Brothers were sent to Valencia by Brother St Benedict Menni to collect alms to provide financial support and improve Ciempozuelos hospital, Madrid, but when they saw the dire poverty and total neglect from which the sick street urchins were suffering, they decided to give all the money they raised to care for them. They sent nothing to Ciempozuelos. When Brother Benedict was told of this situation he gave them permission to work for the construction of a hospital in the town. That was in 1886. The Republican government persecution of the Brothers who worked in the hospital was extremely harsh, humiliating, callous and cruel. The whole Community reacted in a most exemplary manner. Eleven of the Brothers were shot dead by the members of the Republican Army and by the FAI.
Brother Leoncio ROSELL
LABORIA
He was born in Barcelona on December 13, 1897 to Mariano and Rosa. He was appointed Superior of the Community in 1931, and was a great inspiration to all the Brothers in his Community, keeping their spirits high. Before his execution he told his Brothers, I am totally ready to give up my life for the triumph of Religion and Spain. Two months later, all the other Brothers in his Community met the same fate.
Brother Cristóbal PÉREZ
del BARRIO
He was born in Palencia on December 25, 1864 to Francisco and Polonia. He was acknowledged to be an exemplary Hospitaller Brother and was one of the Brothers who nursed Benedict Menni in Dinan, France. He worked in the village hospital on the night watch.
Brother Leandro ALOY
DOMÉNECH
He was born at Bétera, Valencia, on November 16, 1872, to Mariano and María. He made his Solemn Profession in 1903 and lived a life rooted in piety, and was a good Hospitaller. When he saw the violence being unleashed by the intruders who invaded his hospital he would cry out, How much longer, Lord? He was 64 years old, with 38 years in the Religious Life, when he was shot.
Brother Cruz IBÁÑEZ
LÓPEZ
He was born at Sabiñán, Zaragoza, on January 3, 1886. His parents lived and worked in the hospital of Our Lady of Grace in Zaragoza. He made his Solemn Profession on May 27, 1917. He had an honest and friendly character, and at the beginning of the occupation of the hospital, he won over the trust of the militiamen.
Brother Jaime Oscar
VALDÉS
He was born in Havana, Cuba on January 15, 1891. Even though he had all his papers in order to return home to Cuba, he was arrested as he made his way to Barcelona to embark, and was shot in cold blood without a trial or any concern for his status as a foreign national.
Brother
Leopoldo de FRANCISCO PÍO
He was born at Caravaca, Murcia, on August 3, 1877, but never knew his parents. He made his Solemn Profession on May 6, 1923. Despite being in frail health himself, he nursed the sick elderly Brothers and priests living in the Brothers’ enclosure or dormitory. He was also murdered with all the other members of the Community.
Brother Feliciano
MARTÍNEZ GRANERO
He was born at Taberno, Almería, on January 23, 1863 to Miguel
and Faustina, and made his Solemn Profession on June 3, 1928.
He spent his life raising funds and alms for the Valencia hospital, travelling around Valencia, Aragón and the Basque country. He was a very devout man and a good Hospitaller.
Brother Juan José ORAYEN
AIZCORBE
He was born at Osacar, Navarre, on March 11, 1899 to Juan Bautista and Martina, and made his Solemn Profession on May 10, 1931. He was a very friendly and popular man, and the communists tried to save his life, but the FAI objected. He died calling out Long live Christ the King! He was 37.
Brother José Miguel
PEÑARROYA DOLZ
He was born on November 3 1908 at Forcall, Castellón, to Francisco and Rita. He made his Simple Profession in 1932. When the Republicans took over the hospital, he devoted himself to preparing the meals for which was praised even by the military guards. He was executed by firing squad calling out Long live the Mother of God! Long live Christ the King. He was 32.
Brother Publio FERNÁNDEZ
GONZÁLEZ
He was born at Otero de las Dueñas, in the Province of León, to Mariano and María, and entered the Order in 1933. He made his Simple Profession on September 8, 1934. A hard-working man with a good character he succeeded in earning the sympathy and gratitude of the militiamen. The communists tried to save his life, but the FAI overruled them. His death was deeply mourned in the hospital. He was 28 at the time of his execution.
Brother
Avelino MARTÍNEZ de ARENZANA CANDELA
He was born in Barcelona in 1898 to Avelino and Teresa, and became an Oblate Brother. At the time of his death he was 38 and had lived in the Valencia Community for two years. He was a simple man, and followed the other members of the Community along the path to martyrdom. His strong religious faith was the driving force behind his character.
THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL OF SAN JUAN DE DIOS, MÁLAGA
This psychiatric hospital had been one of the finest finest and most important Centres of the Brothers of St John of God since 1922, in the city of Málaga. It was a farm that had belonged to the Marquesses of Heredia, covering an area of 53 ha. It comprised a building, with leafy grounds and woods, a lemon grove and arable land and orchards. The buildings were expanded in order to be able to treat a larger number of patients, until 1929.
The Revolutionary committees began to visit the hospital on July 19, 1936. On the morning of the 20th, they conducted the first detailed search of the premises, claiming that they were looking for weapons, a wholly unreasonable excuse to justify the intrusion. Suspecting, or imagining, what was likely to happen next, the Brothers went to their superior and said, Brother, we are going to stay behind by the sick. August 17 was the day of reckoning. They were distributing supper to the patients when they were all seized and put to death by firing squad against the wall of the city cemetery.
Brother Silvestre PÉREZ
LAGUNA
He was born at Villas del Campo, Soria, to Doroteo and María. He was a man with a searching intellect and was appointed superior to various houses, particularly in Chile, 1922, where he managed a psychiatric hospital with 3000 patients. In 1934 he moved to Málaga to provide care, and was executed on August 17, 1936.
Brother Baltasar CHARCO
HORQUÉS
He was born in Granada on November 12, 1887, to Juan Bautista and María de la Concepción. While he was still very young, he would say, I would like to be a Hospitaller Brother. I can see myself in a large ward surrounded by lots of patients. He entered the Order when he was 17 and served in various Hospitals/Houses. In July 1936 he was arrested by the FAI committees as he was serving supper to sick. He was 48 when he was shot and had been a Brother of St John of God for 31 years.
Brother Gumersindo SANZ
SANZ
He was born at Almadrones, Guadalajara, on January 1, 1878, to Dionisio and Eusebia. He lived in the Philippines and on his return, he joined the Order. In 1929 he was sent to the Málaga Centre. As they were about to martyr him, he said to the militiamen, You are going to kill me, but I will be praying for you. He was serving supper to his patients at the time of his arrest.
Brother Honorio
BALLESTEROS RODRIGUEZ
He was born at Ocaña, Toledo, on April 29, 1895 to Marto and Juana. Has 14, he entered the Apostolic School of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God in Ciempozuelos, Madrid. He was sent to work at the Casa de Orates in Chile, which looked after 3,000 mentally ill inpatients. He published several studies on them and was awarded the distinction of Mérito en Grado de Caballero, in Chile. He was also arrested while he was serving supper to the sick in Málaga.
Brother Raimundo GARCÍA
MORENO
He was born at Lucena, Córdoba in 1896 to Eduardo and María Araceli. Immediately after completing his military service he joined the Order and made his Solemn Profession in 1932. He worked in several Houses, and early in 1936 he was sent to Málaga. When his loved ones told him to stay at home, he replied, I cannot abandon my patients. They are in great need of me. He was shot dead by firing squad against the city cemetery wall. He was 40 years old.
Brother Estanislao PEÑA
OJEA
He was born at Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, in 1970 to Francisco and Jacinta. He entered the Order 1924 and was considered a polite, eager young man who performed his hospital duties well. He arrived in Málaga when the revolution was at its height. His superior therefore urged him to return home, to which he replied, I am going to stay with the sick, come what may. While serving supper to the sick, he was arrested and shot dead. He was 29.
Brother Salustiano
ALONSO ANTONIO
He was born at Torno, Cáceres, in 1876, to Gregorio and Encarnación. He entered the Order when he was 18 years of age and worked in various hospitals of St John of God. When his family begged him to return home until the war was over, he replied: I am very grateful to you all but I prefer to stay in the monastery, whatever happens, until God decides what to do with my life. You know I am extremely grateful to you for your kind thoughts. Like all the Brothers of the Saint John of God Centre in Málaga, he was executed by the FAI outside the city cemetery on August 17, 1936.
Brother Segundo PASTOR
GARCÍA
He was born at Mezquitillas, Soria, to Félix and Escolástica on April 29, 1885. He received a good Christian upbringing. He was a peace-loving and kind-hearted man. At the age of 15 he entered the Apostolic School at Ciempozuelos, Madrid. He entered the novitiate at Carabanchel Alto, Madrid, and made his simple vows on December 20, 1903. He then went on to study for his professional qualifications and his religious formation, as was the custom in the Order. He spent most of his life working as a cook in the hospitals at Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Valencia, Palencia, Ciempozuelos and lastly in Málaga, where he received the palm as a martyr of Hospitality. When his superior suggested that he should leave the Hospital in view of what was happening in Málaga and in the Centre, he replied, I will stay here with the sick, whatever happens, and I want to suffer the same fate as the rest of my Brothers.
THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL OF SAN JUAN DE DIOS AT CIEMPOZUELOS, MADRID
After the Carlist Wars had ended in 1876, Benedict Menni and seven other Brothers went to Madrid on January 1, 1877 determined to open a Psychiatric Hospital in the capital, or nearby, because they had seen that there was a serious lack of care available for the mentally ill.
By 1936, that Psychiatric Hospital was looking after 1,100 patients, while the same number were being cared for by the Sisters Hospitallers whose Congregation had been founded in Ciempozuelos, Madrid, by St Benedict Menni. One of St Benedict Menni’s mottoes was, age-old charity using modern means.
The Ciempozuelos Community suffered the loss of 24 of its Brothers at Paracuellos de Jarama, who were beatified by Pope John Paul II in Rome. We will now call to mind Brother Gaudencio who belonged to the Ciempozuelos Community, although he sacrificed his life elsewhere.
Brother
Gaudencio ÍÑIGUEZ DE HEREDIA ALZOLA
He was the blood brother of our martyred Brother, Mauricio ÍÑIGUEZ DE HEREDIA ALZOLA and the son of another Brother of Saint John of God, Remigio ÍÑIGUEZ DE HEREDIA, who had been widowed at a very young age and subsequntly joined the Order.
Gaudencio was born at Dallo, Álava. At the age of 17 he entered the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God at Ciempozuelos, Madrid, where he continued his vocational training and religious formation. He made his Solemn Profession on March 12, 1906 and served in several Houses in the Order, and was appointed superior of the Centres at Valencia, Palencia and Málaga. He was the Bursar at the Hospital-Asylum of San Rafael, Madrid, and at Ciempozuelos, where he was arrested, before being shot at Valdemoro, Madrid, while travelling to the capital on the instructions of his superior to pay some bills for goods purchased for the Psychiatric Hospital.
