New blesseds: 11 Spanish martyrs and an exemplary Argentine businessman, Enrique Shaw

On December 18, Pope Leo XIV authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning 12 new blesseds, 11 of whom were martyrs during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s—9 seminarians, a diocesan priest, and a layman—and a father, Enrique Ernesto Shaw, an Argentine businessman who died in 1962, and three new venerables—two Italians, Friar Berardo Atonna and Sister Domenica Caterina dello Spirito Santo, and the priest Joseph Panjikaran, from India—whose heroic virtues have been recognized.

The Spanish martyrs

Eleven Spanish martyrs were killed between 1936 and 1937 during the violent anti-Christian persecution of that period in Spain, in the territory of the current dioceses of Madrid, Getafe, and Alcalá de Henares.

Seminarian Ignacio Aláez Vaquero, arrested for refusing to enlist in the army and choosing instead to study to become a priest, was murdered along with his father on November 9, 1936. Along with him, the following were recognized as martyrs Pablo Chomón Pardo, seminarian, and his uncle, Julio Pardo Pernía, chaplain of the Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart in Ciempozuelos, murdered on August 8, 1936; Antonio Moralejo Fernández-Shaw, a seminarian, and his father Liberato Moralejo Juan, who allowed himself to be arrested in order to defend his son and was murdered alongside him; and also the seminarians Jesús Sánchez Fernández-Yáñez, Miguel Talavera Sevilla, Ángel Trapero Sánchez-Real, Cástor Zarco García—who had to enlist as a reservist and was denounced by some of his comrades for his behavior, considered too peaceful, and was murdered after suffering several humiliations and being forced to dig his own grave—Mariano Arrizabalaga Español, and Ramón Ruiz Pérez, who was tortured along with some twenty lay people and imprisoned and murdered with them.

All of them were killed because of hatred for their faith: their martyrdom is part of the anti-Catholic climate of those years in Spain. Extensive documentation shows the clear willingness of the seminarians to give their lives for God, aware of the anti-Christian hatred unleashed against members of the Church. By remaining close to their families and friends without hiding, despite the danger, their reputation for martyrdom spread rapidly and continues to this day.

Enrique Ernesto Shaw

Enrique Ernesto Shaw, born in Paris on February 26, 1921, and later moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, his family's homeland, will also be beatified. A young man of strong Catholic faith, he joined the Navy and during long periods at sea he taught catechism to the sailors.

Called to work in the family business, he committed himself to applying the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church in the business world, establishing a fraternal relationship of collaboration with all his workers. He married Cecilia Bunge, with whom he had nine children; he joined Catholic Action and the Christian Family Movement, promoting several other associations related to the world of work and publishing lectures, articles, and essays.

In 1961, he was appointed president of Catholic Action Men. He died of cancer on August 27, 1961. His intercession led to the miraculous healing of a five-year-old boy who was kicked in the back of the head by a horse on a farm near Buenos Aires on June 21, 2015. The child suffered severe skull and brain damage and underwent several surgical procedures. On July 15, to the surprise of the doctors, it was found that the ventricular system had returned to its normal size. In 2019, the child was examined by two experts who found him to be in good health, with no significant neurological sequelae. Today he leads a normal life.

The Venerables

The heroic virtues of Friar Berardo Atonna and Sister Domenica Caterina dello Spirito Santo, both Italian, and Joseph Panjikaran, an Indian priest, were also recognized. For this reason, as of today, they are Venerable. 

Giuseppe Panjikaran, diocesan priest, founder of the Congregation of the «Medical Sisters of St. Joseph,» born on September 10, 1888, in Uzhuva (India) and died on November 4, 1949, in Kothamangalam (India);

Berardo Atonna (born Giuseppe), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, born on July 1, 1843, in Episcopio di Sarno (Italy) and died on March 4, 1917, in Naples (Italy);

Domenica Caterina dello Spirito Santo (born Teresa Solari), founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Little House of Divine Providence, probably born on December 8, 1822, in Ne (Italy) and died on May 7, 1908, in Genoa (Italy).