Twenty Spanish Civil War Priests Beatified in Historic Ibiza Ceremony

Twenty Catholic diocesan priests murdered in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War were beatified this Saturday, October 17, in a historic ceremony held at Ibiza Cathedral. Led by Father Juan Torres Torres, the main figure of the cause, the priests were executed solely out of hatred for the faith and for being priests—representing nearly forty percent of the island’s 53 diocesan clergy at the time. Official Vatican records and witness testimony unanimously confirm that no other motive existed for their killings.

The solemn beatification Mass was presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, marking the first beatification ceremony ever celebrated in the Balearic Islands. In his homily, Cardinal Semeraro highlighted that the event was not a celebration of human invincibility, but rather an honor to those whose steadfastness stemmed from the certainty of Christ’s love. He emphasized that the martyrs chose fidelity over hostility, refusing to allow the violence directed toward them to turn into hatred of their own.

The new blesseds—whose feast day will be celebrated annually on November 6—were targeted between August and September 1936 amid widespread anti-religious violence in Ibiza and Formentera. Among them, Father Juan Torres Torres, the youngest of the group, was killed on August 7, 1936, just two months after his ordination, exclaiming “Long live Christ the King!” upon hearing his sentence. Other priests, such as Father Antonio Tur Costa and Father Antonio Roig Guasch, suffered torture and disfigurement for refusing to blaspheme or renounce their faith before being shot.

The remaining clergy members were held in Ibiza Castle before their execution on September 13 following a bloody assault. Though initially left unburied, the remains of the twenty martyrs were eventually transferred to Ibiza Cathedral in October 1940, where they rest today. The full list of the newly beatified priests includes Juan Torres Torres, Antonio Tur Costa, Antonio Roig Guasch, José Tur Bennassar, Miguel Planells Tur, José Ramón Escandel, Sala Joaquín Cirer, José Riera Bonet, Antonio Cardona Vingut, José Torres Torres, Mariano Roig Marí, José Ferrer Guasch, Antonio Marí Torres, Ignacio Serra Riera, Antonio Ramón Orvay, Mariano Escandell Roig, Miguel Riera Bonet, Andrés Tur Tur, José Tur Ferrer, and José Serra Ribas.