José María Gran Cirera and 9 companions

The work of this group of martyrs is part of the missionary impetus of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) and Catholic Action in the diocese of Quiché. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, Spanish missionaries, joined by local laypeople, became actively involved in evangelization and human development within the Mayan indigenous communities, which were particularly marginalized and affected by extreme poverty. The priests provided spiritual and sacramental accompaniment, while the laypeople (catechists, sacristans, health promoters) played a fundamental role as liaisons in the field. Together, they went from house to house to proclaim the Gospel, visit the sick, organize agricultural cooperatives, and defend the rights of peasants against land dispossession. When the civil war intensified in the 1980s, the department of Quiché became the epicenter of military repression. The government and the army considered the Church's social action and its defense of human rights to be a subversive threat. Despite death threats, slander, and constant intimidation, the missionaries and catechists chose to remain with their communities, refusing to abandon their flock.

The reputation of martyrdom of these ten servants of God spread rapidly within the diocese of Quiché and throughout Guatemala. The cause for beatification and canonization was officially opened on July 21, 2007, under the impetus of the diocese of Quiché. The diocesan inquiry, tasked with collecting historical testimonies and evidence of martyrdom, was closed on March 22, 2013, and then transmitted to Rome to be studied by the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Causes of Saints. On January 23, 2020, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree officially recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith). This recognition exempts the process from the requirement of a miracle to pave the way for beatification.

The beatification ceremony for José María Gran Cirera and his 9 companions took place on April 23, 2021, in Santa Cruz del Quiché, Guatemala. The solemn Mass, celebrated outdoors at the College of the Rosary due to health restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, brought together hundreds of faithful, bishops, and representatives of indigenous communities. The celebration was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio to Guatemala, Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla, representing Pope Francis, in place of Cardinal Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini, who was unable to attend for health reasons. During the Regina Caeli prayer on April 25, 2021, Pope Francis honored the memory of the new blesseds, describing them as "heroic witnesses of justice and love." Their common liturgical feast is set for June 4, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Father José María Gran Cirera and the sacristan Domingo del Barrio Batz.

The spirituality of the Martyrs of Quiché is based on an incarnated faith, deeply united to the Heart of Jesus and lived as a service of selfless love towards the poorest. For these priests and laypeople, the Gospel could not be dissociated from the defense of human dignity. They drew their strength from prayer, the recitation of the rosary, and the celebration of the Eucharist. Their legacy remains extremely alive in Guatemala. They are considered artisans of peace and models of reconciliation for a country still marked by the scars of civil war. The sacrifice of young Juan Barrera Méndez, only 12 years old, has become a powerful symbol for Guatemalan Catholic youth, illustrating an absolute and early commitment of faith.