Vicenç Queralt Lloret and 20 companions

The group of martyrs led by Father Vicente Queralt Lloret includes 21 members of the Vincentian Family, all put to death in hatred of the faith (in odium fidei) between 1936 and 1937. This group illustrates the diversity and complementarity of the branches of the spiritual family of Saint Vincent de Paul, bringing together priests of the Mission, diocesan priests, religious sisters, and young laypeople.

The group is composed of:

- 7 priests of the Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists): Vicente Queralt Lloret, Manuel Binimelis Cabré (martyred in Barcelona on September 12, 1936), Luis Berenguer Moratonas (died in prison in Barcelona on May 28, 1937, from the effects of mistreatment), Juan Puig Serra (brutally executed in Figueras on October 13, 1936), Agapito Alcalde Garrido (martyred in Valencia on July 31, 1936), Rafael Vinagre Torres-Muñoz (martyred in Valencia on September 11, 1936), and José Acosta Alemán (died in prison in Totana on January 31, 1937). - 5 diocesan priests from the Diocese of Cartagena, who worked as spiritual directors or advisors to the Association of the Children of Mary of the Miraculous Medal: Juan José Martínez Romero, Pedro José Rodríguez Cabrera (both died in prison in Totana on January 31, 1937), Pedro Gambín Pérez (martyred on August 15, 1936, in Cartagena), Cayetano García Martínez (martyred on August 15, 1936, in Jumilla), and José Sánchez Medina (martyred on October 17, 1936, in Archena). - 2 religious sisters of the Company of the Daughters of Charity: Sister Toribia Marticorena Sola (a devoted nurse, having served notably during the Rif War and then at the hospital of Santa Coloma de Gramanet) and Sister Dorinda Sotelo Rodríguez (a 21-year-old novice). Both had taken refuge in Barcelona, posing as domestic workers. Discovered because of their status as religious sisters, they were shot together on the hill of Tibidabo in Barcelona on October 24, 1936. - 7 laypeople of the Association of the Children of Mary of the Miraculous Medal (today Vincentian Marian Youth): Rafael Lluch Garín (a 19-year-old pharmacist, arrested for refusing to remove an image of the Virgin from his pharmacy, martyred in Silla on October 12, 1936), Francisco García Balanza (president of the association in Cartagena, murdered on August 25, 1936), Modesto Allepuz Vera, Enrique-Pedro Gonzálvez Andreu, José Ardil Lázaro (all three martyred in Cartagena on September 22, 1936), Isidro Juan Martínez, and Francisco Roselló Hernández (both martyred in Cartagena on October 18, 1936).

Each of these martyrs, through their commitment to the poor, the sick, or the youth, bore witness to the very end to Vincentian charity.

The beatification process for this group of martyrs was opened in order to officially recognize their death in hatred of the Catholic faith during the religious persecution of the Spanish Civil War.

The decree of introduction of the cause (the nihil obstat) was granted by the Holy See on November 27, 2003. The diocesan inquiry took place from March 4, 2004, to June 6, 2008, within the Archdiocese of Valencia. This choice is explained by the transfer of competence granted on December 3, 2003, by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, unifying the causes of the martyrs who died in the dioceses of Barcelona and Cartagena under one single ecclesiastical tribunal in Valencia.

After the examination of the Positio by the theological consultants and the cardinals, Pope Francis authorized, on December 1, 2016, the promulgation of the decree recognizing the martyrdom of Father Vicente Queralt Lloret and his 20 companions, thus paving the way for their beatification.

The beatification ceremony took place on Saturday, November 11, 2017, in Madrid, Spain, at the Palacio Vistalegre. The rite was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, acting as the official representative and special envoy of Pope Francis. The group of 21 martyrs was raised to the altars alongside another group of 39 Spanish Vincentian martyrs, led by Father José María Fernández Sánchez. In total, 60 members of the Vincentian Family (priests, coadjutor brothers, novices, religious sisters, and laypeople) were beatified that day. This historic celebration significantly coincided with the 400th anniversary of the birth of the Vincentian charism (1617-2017). The following day, November 12, 2017, during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis honored the memory of the new blesseds, describing them as "exemplary witnesses of Christ and the Gospel." Their collective liturgical memorial is set for November 6, the day on which the Church in Spain and the Vincentian Family honor all the martyrs of the 20th century.

The spirituality of Blessed Vicente Queralt Lloret and his companions is deeply marked by the charism of Saint Vincent de Paul: preferential love for the poor, a spirit of service, the evangelization of the countryside, and the education of youth.

A salient feature of their common spiritual life is their deep Marian devotion, lived out through the distribution of the Miraculous Medal. The young laypeople of the group were active members of the Association of the Children of Mary of the Miraculous Medal, of which they were local pillars, while the diocesan and Lazarist priests provided spiritual accompaniment.

Their supreme testimony is also imbued with a spirit of heroic forgiveness and reconciliation. For example, the mother of Father Manuel Binimelis Cabré, upon learning of the death of her only son, declared that she wished to know the identity of the murderer only so that she could forgive him.

Today, the legacy of these 21 martyrs is perpetuated through the dynamism of the Vincentian Marian Youth (VMY), the direct heir of the Association of the Children of Mary, as well as through the charitable and missionary work carried out by the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity throughout the world.