Valentín Palencia Marquina and 4 companions

The central work of this group is the Patronato de San José (Saint Joseph Patronage), founded in Burgos in 1898 by Father Valentín Palencia Marquina. Ordained a priest in 1895, Father Valentín immediately dedicated himself to the cause of poor, orphaned, and abandoned children. Appointed director and chaplain of the Patronato de San José by the Archbishop of Burgos, he transformed this institution into a place of warm welcome and integral education. Not content with merely feeding and housing more than a hundred children, he created professional training workshops (notably for tailors and shoemakers) to ensure them a dignified future. Convinced of the educational value of art, he also developed drawing, theater, and especially music, founding a renowned choir and brass band. In recognition of his exceptional humanitarian dedication, the Spanish government awarded him the Cross of Beneficence (Cruz de Beneficencia) in 1925. His four lay companions were all intimately linked to the life and animation of the Patronato: Donato Rodríguez García, who suffered from polio in his childhood, moved with the help of crutches. Welcomed at the Casa de Asilo in Burgos to study music, he was spotted by Father Valentín, who entrusted him with the role of music master at the Patronato. A brilliant pedagogue, he obtained his piano teacher diploma in 1934 and directed the institution's brass band. Germán García García, a former postulant with the Marist Brothers, taught for a time in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) before returning to Burgos for health reasons. After working in a hotel thanks to his mastery of languages, he volunteered in 1934 as a teacher at the Patronato, where he also played the clarinet in the brass band. Zacarías Cuesta Campo, disabled in one leg since the age of five, was entrusted to the Patronato by his family, friends of Father Valentín, to learn the trades of tailor and shoemaker. He also learned music there and distinguished himself by his spirit of responsibility and his kindness. Emilio Huidobro Corrales, motherless and rejected by his stepfather, this young man of athletic stature found refuge at the Patronato. Gifted for music, he mastered almost all instruments and assisted Donato in directing the brass band.

During the summer of 1936, as every year, Father Valentín took a group of children and young musicians from the Patronato on a summer camp by the sea in Suances, Cantabria. It was there that they were caught by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War on July 18, 1936. Quickly, religious persecution fell upon the region. The local church was transformed into a garage and, by mid-August, Father Valentín was formally forbidden from celebrating Mass and wearing his ecclesiastical habit. Despite the threats and the danger of death, the priest refused to abandon his children and continued to celebrate the Eucharist clandestinely in his room, while visiting the sick and bringing communion to the Trinitarian nuns. The tragedy unfolded when an undisciplined former student, furious that Father Valentín had refused to give him a coin (a silver peseta), denounced him to the Popular Front militiamen of Torrelavega. Sensing his imminent arrest, the priest consumed the last consecrated Host on the eve of his martyrdom. Six of the oldest youths in the group were summoned by the militiamen to testify against the priest. Not only did they refuse to accuse him, but four of them—Donato, Germán, Zacarías, and Emilio—deliberately chose not to abandon him. Out of absolute loyalty to their educator and their faith in Jesus Christ, they decided to accompany him to the end, knowing full well that they were heading to their deaths. On January 15, 1937, Father Valentín Palencia Marquina and his four young disciples were taken to Mount Tramalón, in Ruiloba, where they were shot in hatred of the faith.

The cause for beatification was introduced in the Archdiocese of Burgos. The diocesan phase of the inquiry, opened on September 30, 1996, with the nihil obstat from the Roman Curia, concluded on March 18, 1999. The validity of the inquiry was decreed on November 8, 1999, and the Positio on the martyrdom was submitted in Rome in 2003. On September 30, 2015, Pope Francis signed the decree officially recognizing the martyrdom of Father Valentín Palencia Marquina and his four lay companions. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on April 23, 2016, in the Cathedral of Santa María in Burgos. It was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. During the Regina Coeli the following day, April 24, 2016, Pope Francis publicly honored the memory of these "courageous witnesses" of the faith. Their common liturgical feast is set for January 15, the day of their birth into Heaven.

The spirituality of Valentín Palencia and his companions is deeply marked by the spirit of the Holy Family of Nazareth: humility, simplicity, daily work, and total abandonment to Divine Providence. Faced with the constant material difficulties of his work, Father Valentín would repeat with confidence: "Saint Joseph will not abandon us." Their shared martyrdom offers a unique testimony to the fruitfulness of Christian pedagogy. The heroism of the four young laymen does not stem from an ideological commitment, but from a profound gratitude and an unfailing spiritual friendship toward the priest who had welcomed, loved, and educated them. By choosing to die with him, they manifested the truth of Christ's words regarding the love that lays down its life for its friends. Today, the Patronato de San José remains a historical model of the Church's social and educational action in Spain, and the five blessed are venerated as protectors of youth, educators, and people with disabilities.