Mateo Casals Mas and 108 companions

The life and work of Mateo Casals Mas and his companions are fully rooted in the charism of the Congregation of Missionaries Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, founded in 1849 by Saint Anthony Mary Claret in Vic, Spain. This congregation is primarily dedicated to popular missions, the education of youth, and the propagation of Marian devotion. After his ordination, Father Mateo Casals Mas exercised his ministry in various communities. In 1913, he was sent to Alagón, then to Solsona where he was appointed minister, sacristan, and later professor of mystical theology. An indefatigable preacher, he preached numerous missions, retreats, and novenas throughout the region. In December 1922, he was appointed superior of the Sabadell community, a position he held until his transfer to Cervera in 1930, and then to Solsona in 1931. On July 24, 1934, he returned to Sabadell as superior. The group of 109 Claretian martyrs represents the diversity of vocations within the congregation. It consists of 49 priests, 31 coadjutor brothers, and 29 students (scholastics). These martyrs belonged to seven different communities in Spain: Cervera-Mas Claret (60 martyrs), Vic-Sallent (15 martyrs), Lleida (11 martyrs), Barcelona (8 martyrs), Sabadell (8 martyrs), Valencia (4 martyrs), and Castro Urdiales (3 martyrs). To lead the cause of beatification, three figures were designated as leaders, representing the three states of consecrated life in the congregation: 1. Father Mateo Casals Mas (representing the priests), 2. Teófilo Casajús Alduán (representing the students/scholastics, born on November 3, 1914, in Murchante and martyred on July 26, 1936, in Lleida), 3. Brother Fernando Saperas Aluja (representing the coadjutor brothers, born on September 8, 1905, in Alió and martyred on August 13, 1936, in Tàrrega).

Starting in July 1936, the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War was accompanied by violent religious persecution. In Sabadell, tension peaked on July 20, 1936, when militiamen began setting fire to the city's churches and convents.

Before dispersing the community to seek refuge with friendly families, Father Mateo Casals Mas gathered his confreres to celebrate a final Mass. They symbolically placed the keys to their church at the feet of the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, entrusting the care of their house to her.

On August 4, 1936, Father Mateo and several of his companions (Father José Puig, Brothers José Clavería, Juan Rafí, José Solé, and José Cardona) were arrested in their respective refuges and incarcerated in the Sabadell prison. During their detention, Father Mateo ensured the maintenance of a community life of prayer and mutual support, preparing his brothers for martyrdom in peace and serenity.

On the night of September 4 to 5, 1936, a group of armed militiamen from the FAI (Iberian Anarchist Federation) burst into the prison and called the missionaries out one by one. At dawn on September 5, 1936, Father Mateo Casals Mas and his companions were taken to Sant Quirze del Vallès (then called San Quirico de Tarrasa) and shot.

Other members of the group suffered martyrdom individually or collectively throughout Catalonia, Valencia, and Cantabria. Among them, Father José Reixach, seriously wounded by gunfire on July 25, 1936, managed to drag himself to the Casa de la Caridad in Sabadell. Before the mayor and the militiamen who had come to interrogate him, he declared: "If you are the ones who shot me, I forgive you with all my heart. I want to die like Jesus, who forgave those who had just crucified him." He passed away a few hours later.

The cause for the beatification of Mateo Casals Mas and his companions was first introduced at the diocesan level. For the Barcelona group, the diocesan informative process opened on November 28, 1949, and concluded on January 29, 1951. After a period of suspension of the causes related to the Spanish Civil War, the decree on the writings was published on December 6, 1991. On September 13, 2006, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints decided to unify the various Claretian causes from Catalonia, Valencia, and Cantabria into a single group of 109 martyrs, under the title of Mateo Casals Mas, Teófilo Casajús Alduán, Fernando Saperas Aluja, and 106 companions. The Positio super martyrio was submitted the same year and examined by theological consultants on February 8, 2016. On December 21, 2016, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing their martyrdom in hatred of the faith. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on October 21, 2017, at the Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona (Spain). The rite was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, as legate of Pope Francis, in the presence of Cardinal Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, and thousands of the faithful. The mortal remains of Blessed Mateo Casals Mas are venerated in the Church of the Heart of Mary in Sabadell.

The spirituality of the 109 Claretian martyrs rests on the total offering of self, inspired by devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and configured to the sacrifice of Christ. Faced with persecution, they chose not to flee their religious and priestly identity, preferring forgiveness to vengeance.

As Cardinal Amato emphasized during the beatification homily, these martyrs responded to the "tsunami of persecution" with the weapon of charity and forgiveness, proclaiming: "We are not afraid" (No tenim por). Their death was not an act of defeat, but a testimony of heroic fidelity to their religious vows.

To perpetuate their memory, a symbolic icon was created by the artist Laura Alberich for the beatification. It represents the 109 martyrs surrounding the Heart of Mary, the central symbol of their spirituality and mission. Their liturgical feast is set for February 1st by the apostolic letter of Pope Francis, while the Claretian congregation also commemorates them on September 5th.