Madrid, Spain. The main Spanish television network, RTVE (www.rtve.es), will rebroadcast from Barbastro on Sunday, the 6th of November, the closing Eucharist celebrating the activities which during the year have recorded the 75th Anniversary since the execution of the Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro. The celebration will be held at 10:30am during the show: “The Day of the Lord”, broadcast on channel 2, and which will be presided over by Alfonso Milián Sorribas, Bishop of Barbastro-Monzón.
During these last months the Congregation, and especially the Provinces of Iberia, have remembered the Claretian Martyrs with various activities and publications always asking for peace and reconciliation among all peoples.
New Editions of Publications and an Increase in the Number of Visitors
The Museum of Barbastro, full of memories of the 51 Blessed, has been the more visited than ever: publications, leaflets, books, and bulletins have highlighted the generous sacrifice of the “Martyr Seminary”, beatified by John Paul II in 1992. Among the many activities coordinated by the Province of Santiago has been the corrected, re-publication of the book: “Claretian Martyrs” by Fr. Pedro García Hernández, CMF and one of the works by Fr. Gabriel Campo, whose leaflets were handed out to many thousands of people. All of the Bishops and Major Seminaries of the Diocese of Spain received leaflets that highlighted the impressive testimony of the young Blesseds and which were very graciously received
A Beautiful Web Page. A “Virtual” Visit
One of the activities celebrating this anniversary year was the inauguration of the Web Page: www.martiresdebarbastro.org, in which one may take a virtual visit of the Museum of the Claretian Martyrs. Many thousands of the participants World Youth Day were able to access and know the experience and memory of the Martyrs. And in the final days, taking advantage of the festive character of the Solemnity of All Saints, a group of young people from Asturias, Zamora, and Segovia were able to gather around the site and learn of the generous gesture of the Martyrs. The television broadcast, which has also been advertised on postcards displayed in parishes and centers of learning, will be on this coming Sunday, a beautiful end of these celebrations.
A Memory to be Continued
The year of the 75th Anniversary comes to a close, but the life continues. The changes undertaken in the House of Barbastro allow -as already several of our recent congregational meetings have found – a comfortable stay from a good group of missionaries. The community, committed to the custody of the memory of the Martyrs and the welcoming of pilgrims, will continue to exercise its ministry of hospitality with a smile. The Martyrs (and visitors!) deserve it.
