Spain. On Sunday, September 20, the memory was celebrated of the Claretians who suffered martyrdom in MAS CLARET, in Cervera (Lleida), in 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish civil war. Like every year, more than 100 persons gathered around the memory of the martyrdom of these our brothers. Fr. Josep Vilarrubias, presided over the Eucharist. He was from the beginning the animator of this celebration and was also celebrating the 50 years of his priestly ordination. Several Claretians and priests of the Diocese of Solsona, to which Cervera belongs, accompanied him in the concelebration. This year Fr. General and the General Postulator, from Rome, joined the celebration. At the beginning of the path toward the place of martyrdom, where the Mass was celebrated, as the photo shows, a panel was inaugurated entitled “Monument to Reconciliation”, explaining the composition of the Claretian community and the history of their martyrdom. A moment of fraternal meal put an end to the celebration. They asked the Lord to send to the Congregation and to the Church young men who are ready to continue being witnesses to the Kingdom.

The Claretian missionaries who bloodily gave their life in Cervera were 69, most of them in full youth, loaded with missionary illusion, since they were students preparing themselves for the priesthood. Among the many other Claretian martyrs of 1936 are the 51 of Barbastro who were beatified by John Paul II in 1992, whom the Pope with emotion called “Martyr Seminary”