[From our ongoing series on the 70th Anniversary of the Passion of Spain.]
Exactly 70 years ago, on November 7 and November 8 (and from November 28 to November 30), 1936, the largest isolated massacre of Catholics in modern times happened in the outskirts of Madrid, near the foot of a hill called Cerro San Miguel (Saint Michael Hill), in Paracuellos de Jarama.Many thousands of Catholics were martyred by the forces which defended the Spanish Republic (including Communists, Socialists, and Anarchists), in the most brutal and despicable ways, before and especially during the nearly three years of the Spanish Civil War -- yet no place was as soaked with the blood of martyrs in so short a time as the fields of Paracuellos.
Madrid would only fall in the hands of the Nationalists at the end of the war. Yet, in late October 1936, it seemed to the Republican government and its allies that the Capital was about to fall. The government would be transferred to Valencia, and the thousands upon thousands of prisoners (many of whom were not political partisans, but simply Catholic priests, religious, and lay faithful) kept in the prisons and detention centers throughout the city had to be "discarded"...
By trains and trucks they went, hundreds and hundreds for three days, beginning on November 6. When the prisoners arrived at Paracuellos, they had to dig up their mass graves, and were shot by the leftist squadrons, dozens at a time. Many were also buried alive.
The flow of prisoners to Paracuellos was interrupted on November 8, when the advance of the Nationalist forces seemed under control, and due to the intervention of many foreign diplomats.
On November 28-30, thousands more were murdered at Paracuellos, including almost all the Augustinian friars of the great Royal Monastery of Saint Lawrence of El Escorial. Some historians estimate that the total number of people murdered in Paracuellos in November 1936 may have reached almost 5,000, of whom an incalculable number killed solely for their Faith.
We publish below the names of some of the martyrs of Paracuellos, priests and religious brothers [identified as (br)]. Many more unidentified priests and religious, as well as non-religious laymen, were also martyred in that sanctified place. Some have been beatified; the list was obtained from several sources and is incomplete. We honor with their names all Martyrs of Paracuellos, known and unknown (the second part of the list is dedicated to the Martyrs from the Monastery of El Escorial). Their names include the sounds of all "Spains", from Catalonia to Galicia, from the Basque Country to Andalusia, all martyred in the tablelands of old Castile.
May the Martyrs of Paracuellos never be forgotten, as well as the lessons learned from days of terrible persecution under an Atheist tyranny.
Martyrs of Paracuellos, pray for us!
Martyrs of November 7-8 and November 28-30, 1936
- Adalberto Juan (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Adradas Gonzalo, Juan Jesús (Blessed)
- Alcalde Alcalde, Juan (br) (Blessed)
- Alcalde González, Benito
- Alcalde Negredo, Pedro María (br) (Blessed)
- Alcobendas Merino, Severino
- Alfonso, José (br)
- Alfonso Beltrán (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Alonso Cadierno, Pedro Nolasco
- Álvarez Melcón, Bernardino
- Álvarez Rego, Manuel
- Arnaiz Álvarez, Atanasio
- Baldajos Pérez, Juan (br)
- Basilio Julián (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Bautista Jiménez, Eduardo (br) (Blessed)
- Bernalte Calzado, Pedro Alcántara (br) (Blessed)
- Blanco, Vicente
- Bocos, Ángel (br)
- Caballero, Juan José (subdeacon)
- Carmona, Isabelino
- Daciano (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Delgado Pérez, José (br)
- Delgado Vílchez, Hilario (br) (Blessed)
- Díez Fernández, Jenaro
- Díez Sahún, Clemente (br) (Blessed)
- Donoso Murillo, Arturo (br) (Blessed)
- Escribano Herranz, Mariano
- Esteban, Francico
- Esteban, Gregorio
- Eufrasio María (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Fanjul Acebal, Alfonso
- Feijoo, Zacarías
- Fernández González, Justo (br)
- Floriano Félix (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Franco Prieto, Emilio
- García González, Senén
- García Molina, Diego de Cádiz (br) (Blessed)
- García Pérez, José (novice)
- Garzón González, Anastasio
- Gesta de Piquer, Jesús (br) (Blessed)
- Gil Arribas, Valentín
- Gil, Justo (deacon)
- Gomara, Vidal Luis
- Gómez Lucas, Daniel (br)
- González Bustos, Maximino
- Guerra, José (br)
- Iglesias Suárez, Ramón
- Ismael Ricardo (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Juan Pablo (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Juanes Santos, Justo
- Julián Alberto (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Llop Gayá, Guillermo (br) (Blessed)
- López Arroba, Rogelio
- Luis Victorio (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Marcelino Rebollar, Julián (br)
- Marco, Alberto
- Martín Gago, Victorio
- Martín Gómez, Manuel
- Martín López, Francisco José
- Martínez Gil-Leonis, Antonio (br) (Blessed)
- Martínez Izquierdo, Isidoro (br) (Blessed)
- Martínez Vélez, Dámaso
- Martínez y Martínez, José
- Mata Pérez, Anastasio (br)
- Meléndez Sánchez, Martiniano (br) (Blessed)
- Mendivelzúa, Juan
- Mendoza Sabada, Jacinto
- Menes Álvarez, Antonio
- Monterroso García, Crescencio
- Mora Velasco, José (Blessed)
- Morquillas Fernández, Francisco
- Múgica Goiburu, Lázaro (br) (Blessed)
- Muñiz, Félix
- Nogueira Guitián, Manuel (Carlos de los Santísimos Sacramentos)
- Pablo de la Cruz (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Pajares García, Samuel
- Peña, Vicente
- Peque Iglesias, José (br)
- Pérez Buenavista, Marcos (br)
- Pérez Carrascal, Laureano
- Pérez Díez, Gabriel (Manuel del Rosario)
- Pérez Nanclares, Florencio (br)
- Plazaola Artola, Julián (br) (Blessed)
- Poveda Daries, Luis
- Prado, Eleuterio (br)
- Prieto Fuentes, José (br)
- Reguero, Victoriano
- Renuncio Toribio, Vicente
- Riaño Herrero, Serviliano (br)
- Rodrigo Fierro, Sabino
- Rodríguez Alonso, Avelino
- Rodríguez Crespo, Agustín
- Rodríguez Fernández, Vicente
- Rodríguez Peña, José María
- Rodríguez, Clemente (br)
- Rodríguez, Publio (br)
- Rueda Meijías, Miguel (br) (Blessed)
- Ruiz Cuesta, José (postulant) (Blessed)
- Ruiz Ruiz, Leonardo
- Ruiz Valtierra, Luciano (br)
- Sáenz Gastón, Romualdo
- Salvador del Río, Nicéforo (br) (Blessed)
- Sánchez Fernández, Marcelino (br)
- Sanz Domínguez, Manuel (br)
- Sastre Corporales, Ángel (novice) (Blessed)
- Sedano Sedano, Enrique
- Sinfronio (Brother of the Christian Schools)
- Soria Castresana, Juan
- Touceda Fernández, Román (br) (Blessed)
- Turrado Crespo, Eleuterio
- Valiente, José María (br)
- Vega Riaño, José
- Villarroel Villarroel, Balbino
- Zubillaga Echarri, Joaquín
Augustinian Martyrs of El Escorial (Martyred on November 30, 1936)- Abia Melendro, Luis (br)
- Alonso López, Ramiro (br)
- Arconada Merino, Dámaso
- Calle Franco, Bernardino (br)
- Carvajal Pereda, Pedro J. (br)
- Cerezal Calvo, Miguel
- Cuesta Villalba, Víctor (br)
- Dalmau Regas, José M. (br)
- Diez Fernández, Nemesio (br)
- Espeso Cuevas, Matías
- Fariña Castro, José Agustín
- Fincias, Julio María (br)
- Fuentes Puebla, Francisco (br)
- Gando Uña, José (br)
- García Ferrero, Joaquín
- García de la Fuente, Arturo
- García Fernández, Nemesio (br)
- García Suárez, Esteban
- Garnelo Alvarez, Benito
- Gil Leal, Gerardo
- Guerrero Prieto, Marcos (br)
- Iturrarán Laucirica, Miguel (br)
- Largo Manrique, Jesús
- López Piteira, José (br)
- Malunbres Francés, Constantino
- Marcos del Río, Francisco
- Marcos Reguero, Ricardo (br)
- Marcos Rodríguez, Julio (br)
- Martín Mata, Román (br)
- Martínez Antuña, Melchor
- Martínez Ramos, Pedro
- Mediavilla Campos, Isidro (br)
- Merino Merino, Heliodoro
- Monedero Fernández, Juan
- Noriega González, José (br)
- Pascual Mata, Gerardo (br)
- Pérez García, José Antonio (br)
- Renedo Martin, Agustín
- Revilla Rico, Mariano
- Rodríguez Gutiérrez, Conrado
- Rodríguez González, Benito
- Sánchez Sánchez, Juan
- Sánchez López, Macario (br)
- Sánchez López, Tomás (br)
- Simón Ferrero, Pedro (br)
- Suárez Valdés, Luis
- Terceño Vicente, Dionisio (br)
- Valle García, Máximo (br)
- Varga Delgado, Pedro de la
- Velásco Velásco, Benito
- Zarco Cuevas, Julián
