With the Generalate filled with pilgrims, the weekend celebrating the largest beatification in history was under way. Activity in the Generalate was brisk as the Brothers of the house and other pilgrims from Spain were getting ready for Sunday March 11 when Pope John Paul II would beatify 233 martyrs from the archdiocese of Valencia, Spain. Among the 233 martyrs were five De La Salle Christian Brothers, three from the Colegio de la Bonanova in Barcelona and two from the community of Cambrils in Cataluña. All were martyred in Valencia during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The Brothers web site in Valencia, in Spanish, has a page dedicated to the martyrs.

The festivities formally began on Saturday evening at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican City. The Brothers and other pilgrims who were staying at the Generalate boarded buses for the inaugural event which was an evening of music coordinated by Br. Rodolf Meoli, our Postulator General. There were two major performances. The first was a performance of regional songs and dances from Valencia. The audience was as spirited as the performers, cheering what was clearly some regional entertainment that touched the hearts of those who had traveled from Spain. Indeed, the audience hall was filled to capacity and there seemed to be very few of us in the crowd who could not speak Spanish. Regardless of your native tongue, the music was delightful and entertaining.

The second part of the program was the center piece of the evening, an oratorio written in honor of the martyrs of Valencia. The oratorio, "Sicut Lilium Inter Spinas," was written by Aurelio Porfiri, the organist at Santa Susana in Rome. It is a concert piece for soloists, choir, dancers and organ. The dance portion of the concert presented the martyrs, who after their dedication to God here on earth are celebrated by a triumphal resurrection into paradise. In the finale, the main dancer seemed to be floating on the clouds, palms being waved as she joyously received her martyrs reward in heaven.

Following the performance of the oratorio, Archbishop Augustín García-Gasco Vicente of Valencia spoke to the audience, welcoming the pilgrims, many from his own archdiocese, to Rome. He reminded the group of the tremendous sacrifice that the priests, religious and lay people of Valencia had made in staying true to their faith during the time of the civil war in Spain. Br. Rodolfo Meoli, as coordinator of the event, addressed the enthusiastic crowd and invited all of them to remember that we too are called, day by day, to be martyrs in our own way for the sake of the kingdom.

The Archbishop then led us in a final prayer and bid us good night as we left to prepare for the next morning's activities.

Sunday morning found Saint Peters to be especially bright and cheerful as it basked in the warm sun. The Vatican certainly knows how to orchestrate an event like this and the Sunday beatification was no exception. The actual ceremony of beatification itself is a simple one that is set in the splendor of a papal mass.

Following the Kyrie, the Pope was asked by Archbishop Augustini García-Gasco Vicente of Valencia to "to include in the number of the beatified" those men and women named by his archdiocese. The pope then read a formula in which he said "after having listened the view of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, with Our Apostolic Authority we declare that the Venerable Servants of God José Aparicio Sanz and his two hundred thirty two companions, from now on can be called blessed, and we will be able to celebrate their feast ... every year on September 22." With that, the choir sang "Amen" and the covering that was in front of the official tapestry made for the occasion was removed.

The tapestry can be seen in the picture at the left, above the papal altar. Naturally there was much cheering following the official unveiling, but the crowd soon settled down for the remainder of the Eucharistic celebration.

During the homily, the Pope made a moving plea that, through the intercession of the martyrs of Valencia, peace would come to Spain. The longest and strongest applause came when he called for the end of all terrorism in Spain. He said that "terrorism is born in hatred and is unjust." He said that "terrorism is the enemy of humanity" and prayed that, through the intercession of Mary, there would be peace throughout Spain.

Following the beatification ceremony we returned to the Generalate to prepare for the next event of the weekend: evening prayer honoring the Brother martyrs of Valencia.

The prayer service, and indeed many of the activities involving the pilgrims who stayed at the Generalate for the weekend, was organized by the Brothers of Spain. Br. Rafael Matas of Valencia, Palma, was primarily responsible for the superb organization. The Vespers service was a prayer of gratitude for the Brother Martyrs of Valencia. The Generalate chapel was filled for the service which included a renewal of vows by five Brothers from Spain.

During the service, Br. Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, Superior General, addressed the congregation. In his address, he said the memory of our new beati "first of all should be for us, as the Pope said, a perennial duty of gratitude. Thank you, Brothers, for having repeated the death of Jesus, the original sacrament of all martyrdom, thank you for having suffered the fate of so many crucified people who still today search for paths to life and resurrection. Thanks for your witness of dedication all the way to the end. Thank you for your service to Christian schools..." "Gratitude and imitation. Two views which come from a reflective view of the life and death of our Blessed martyrs of Valencia."

The five brothers from Spain who renewed their vows are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their final profession. They professed their final vows in Rome, at the end of the CIL session of 1976. They are pictured below, from left to right, Br. Vicente Devesa Montava, Br. Ricardo Mateo Esteban, Br. Jesús Royo Terrado, Br. Miguel Gil Vos and Br. Juan Durán Galmés.

Following the Vespers service, the participants were hosted to a buffet supper where we bid farewell to our visitors, and hope they will return soon.