Francisco Esteban Lacal and companions

The Oblate community had established itself in the station district of Pozuelo de Alarcón in 1929. This convent housed the scholasticate (formation house) of the Spanish province. The religious led a life of prayer, study, and intense apostolic activity there. They provided chaplaincy for three local religious communities, heard confessions and preached in the surrounding parishes, and the young scholastics taught catechism to the children of the neighborhood.

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936 triggered a violent religious persecution. On July 22, 1936, armed revolutionary militias stormed the convent of Pozuelo de Alarcón under the pretext of searching for weapons. The 38 Oblates present were immediately arrested and confined in the refectory of their own house.

The martyrdom of the 22 Oblates took place in three successive waves: 1. July 24, 1936: A first group of seven Oblates (the priest Juan Antonio Pérez Mayo and the scholastics Francisco Polvorinos Gómez, Manuel Gutiérrez Martín, Cecilio Vega Domínguez, Juan Pedro Cotillo Fernández, Justo González Lorente, and Pascual Aláez Medina) was taken to the Casa de Campo, near Madrid, and shot. They died alongside a layman and father of a family, Cándido Castán San José, who had been imprisoned with them. 2. November 7, 1936: Two other Oblates, Father José Vega Riaño (formator) and the scholastic Serviliano Riaño Herrero, were executed at Paracuellos de Jarama and Soto de Aldovea. 3. November 28, 1936: The last thirteen members of the community (including the provincial father Francisco Esteban Lacal, the local superior Vicente Blanco Guadilla, the young priest Gregorio Escobar García, as well as several scholastics and coadjutor brothers) were taken from the San Antón prison in Madrid, driven to Paracuellos de Jarama, and shot collectively.

From the moment their deaths were announced, the reputation of martyrdom of the Oblates of Pozuelo spread among the faithful and within their religious family. All died forgiving their executioners and courageously confessing their faith.

The diocesan inquiry into the martyrdom was opened in Madrid on March 11, 1999, and closed on January 11, 2000. The layman Cándido Castán San José was associated with the cause of the 22 Oblates. The Roman trial began in June 2000 and the Positio was submitted in 2003. On April 2, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree officially recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith).

The beatification ceremony for Francisco Esteban Lacal and his 22 companions (the 21 other Oblates and the layman Cándido Castán San José) was celebrated on December 17, 2011, at the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid. The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Benedict XVI.

Their common liturgical feast is set for November 28, the day of the martyrdom of the largest group of the community, including the provincial father Francisco Esteban Lacal.

The spirituality of this group of martyrs is deeply rooted in the charism of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate: the love of the Cross, the total gift of self for the Gospel, and absolute trust in Divine Providence. Despite the psychological torture and extreme deprivation suffered during their captivity, none of them denied their faith or regretted their religious commitment.

Their testimony is marked by a heroic attitude of forgiveness and reconciliation. Before being executed by firing squad on November 28, 1936, Father Francisco Esteban Lacal, after giving absolution to his companions, addressed the executioners in these terms: "We know that you are killing us because we are Catholics and religious. We are so in truth. My companions and I forgive you with all our heart. Long live Christ the King!"

Their legacy remains alive within the Oblate Congregation and the Spanish Church, recalling the power of forgiveness in the face of violence and absolute fidelity to Christ.