María Isabel Lacaba Andía and 13 companions

The Order of the Immaculate Conception (O.I.C.), founded at the end of the 15th century by Saint Beatrice of Silva, is a monastic order of strict enclosure. The sisters lead a hidden life there, entirely devoted to contemplation, the recitation of the Divine Office, and intercession for the world, under the patronage of the Virgin Mary in her mystery of the Immaculate Conception.

In July 1936, the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War was accompanied by a violent religious persecution led by republican and anarchist militias. Enclosed monasteries became prime targets. The work of these fourteen religious sisters then transformed into a testimony of absolute fidelity to their charism, up to the supreme gift of their lives.

- The martyrdom of the Saint Joseph community (Madrid): On July 19, 1936, the ten sisters were expelled from their monastery on Sagasti Street. They found refuge in an apartment located at number 19 Francisco Silvela Street. Despite the danger, they maintained a life of intense prayer and fraternal communion. Asked by their chaplain about their willingness to give their lives for Christ, they all answered with an unconditional "yes." On November 7, 1936, denounced by the concierge of a neighboring building, they were arrested by armed militiamen. They were taken aboard a truck and shot the following day, November 8, 1936, in the suburbs of Madrid. Their bodies were never found. - The martyrdom of the El Pardo community: The El Pardo monastery was confiscated on July 21, 1936. Mother Inés de San José and her biological sister, Sister María del Carmen Rodríguez Fernández, took refuge in Madrid with an elderly couple of benefactors. On August 23, 1936, spotted by militiamen, they were arrested with their hosts and taken to a checa (clandestine prison). They were shot at dawn on August 22, 1936 (or shortly after their arrest) in a vacant lot in Vicálvaro. Their faces were washed and photographed by the municipal gravedigger, which allowed for their identification in 1939. - The martyrdom of the Escalona community: Expelled from their monastery in Toledo, the sisters of Escalona were taken to the General Directorate of Security in Madrid, where the militiamen tried to make them renounce their faith. Faced with their categorical refusal, the abbess, Mother María de San José Ytoiz, and the vicar, Sister María de la Asunción Pascual Nieto, were separated from the rest of the group to be intimidated. They were incarcerated in an improvised checa, tortured, and shot at the end of October 1936.

The reputation of martyrdom of these fourteen religious sisters spread rapidly within the Conceptionist Order and the Church of Spain. The diocesan inquiry process into their alleged martyrdom was officially opened in June 2002 under the aegis of the Archdiocese of Madrid. After gathering numerous testimonies and historical documents, the diocesan phase was solemnly closed in February 2010. The file (the Positio) was then transmitted to Rome, to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. On January 15, 2019, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree formally recognizing their death as martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith), thus exempting the process from the requirement of a miracle for their beatification.

The beatification ceremony for María Isabel Lacaba Andía and her 13 companions took place on June 22, 2019, at the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena in Madrid. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Becciu, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, acting as papal legate. It was held in the presence of numerous Spanish bishops and more than 200 Conceptionist nuns who had traveled from all over the world. During the proclamation, a large reliquary containing the remains of the two martyrs of El Pardo was carried in procession. Their common liturgical feast has been set for November 6, the day on which the Church in Spain commemorates all the martyrs of the 20th century.

The spirituality of the fourteen Conceptionist martyrs is rooted in the charism of Saint Beatrice of Silva: a life of silence, humility, contemplation, and filial love for the Virgin Mary. Mother María del Carmen Lacaba Andía loved to repeat that "silence with men gives time to speak with God." Their martyrdom is characterized by an attitude of heroic forgiveness toward their executioners. According to testimonies, they offered their lives as a "living host" for the reconciliation of the Spanish people and the salvation of their persecutors. Mother María del Carmen supported her sisters until the end, reminding them that they were going to meet the divine Spouse, her last words being: "Long live Christ the King!". On the material and memorial level, the legacy of the martyrs is particularly alive: - The relics of Mother Inés de San José and Sister María del Carmen Rodríguez Fernández (the only ones whose bodies could be found and identified) rest today in the chapel dedicated to them at the Monastery of the Conception of Toledo (Motherhouse of the Order). - In Madrid, a street located near the Plaza Manuel Becerra was renamed in 1946 "Calle de las Mártires Concepcionistas" in their memory.