Cayetano Giménez Martín and 15 companions

The ministry and sacrifice of the most notable members of this group illustrate their deep piety and pastoral courage: - Cayetano Giménez Martín (1866-1936): Born on November 27, 1866, in Alfornón, he studied at the San Cecilio seminary in Granada and was ordained a priest on May 31, 1890. After exercising his ministry in several parishes, he became pastor and archpriest of the Church of the Incarnation in Loja. A humble, austere, and deeply charitable priest, he refused to flee Loja at the beginning of the conflict. After his church was burned, he hid for fifteen days at the home of a doctor friend before being arrested. Imprisoned for three days, he was shot at the Loja cemetery on August 8 or 9, 1936. He asked to be executed last so that he could confess and give absolution to each of his cellmates. He died shouting: "¡Viva Cristo Rey!". - Antonio Caba Pozo (1914-1936): Born on December 1, 1914, in Lanjarón, he was a brilliant and pious seminarian at the San Cecilio seminary. While spending his summer vacation in his hometown, he was arrested on July 19, 1936. On July 21, during a prisoner transfer, he was seriously wounded by militia gunfire while reciting the rosary. Transported to the Granada hospital, he died there from his wounds after receiving the last sacraments, at the age of 21. - José Muñoz Calvo (1913-1936): Born on April 18, 1913, in Alhama de Granada, this joyful and dynamic young layman was the president of the local Catholic Action youth. Arrested on July 27, 1936, at his home due to his ecclesial responsibilities, he refused to renounce his commitment. He was shot on July 30, 1936, on the road from Alhama to Loja. During his captivity, he encouraged his companions by saying: "Let us die peacefully, we are Catholics and our only crime is being so. We are going to be martyrs for Christ. Long live Christ the King!". - Miguel Romero Rojas (1911-1936): Born on December 26, 1911, in Coín, he was ordained a priest on June 14, 1936, barely a month before the start of the war. Arrested shortly after celebrating his first mass, he transformed his cell into a place of apostolate, confessing and comforting the other prisoners. He was executed on August 11, 1936, at the Fuente del Sol after suffering severe torture, clutching his crucifix to his chest. The other priests of the group, all murdered for their fidelity to their priesthood, are: Manuel Vázquez Alfalla, Ramón Cervilla Luis, Lorenzo Palomino Villaescusa, Pedro Ruiz de Valdivia, José Becerra Sánchez, Francisco Morales Valenzuela, José Rescalvo Ruiz, José Jiménez Reyes, Manuel Vilches Montalvo (who would die of exhaustion and cold on March 7, 1937, during an escape attempt through the Sierra Nevada), José María Polo Rejón, and Juan Bazaga Palacios.

The reputation of martyrdom of these sixteen servants of God was established immediately after the end of the conflict. As early as 1939, their names were engraved on marble plaques in the main chapel of the Cathedral of Granada. The cause for beatification was officially opened at the diocesan level on July 1, 1999, and closed on September 28 of the same year, under the direction of the postulator, Father Santiago Hoces. The acts of the inquiry were then transmitted to Rome. On November 28, 2019, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree officially recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei, thus paving the way for their beatification without a miracle being required.

Initially scheduled for the spring of 2020, the beatification ceremony had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was finally celebrated on February 26, 2022, in the Cathedral of Santa María de la Encarnación in Granada. The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis, in the presence of numerous Spanish bishops and the families of the martyrs. The following day, during the Angelus on February 27, 2022, Pope Francis honored the memory of the new blesseds by declaring: "May the testimony of these heroic disciples of Christ inspire in everyone the desire to serve the Gospel with fidelity and courage."

The spirituality of this group of martyrs is summarized by the motto chosen for their beatification: "Tu Gracia vale más que la vida" (Your grace is better than life, taken from Psalm 63). They heroically embodied the virtues of faith, strength, and above all, charity through the forgiveness granted to their persecutors. Their legacy is marked by an absolute refusal of hatred and vengeance. The vice-postulator of the cause emphasized that the Church has never published the names of their assassins, thus respecting the will of the martyrs who, through their death, desired peace and national reconciliation. A poignant example of this spirituality of reconciliation is given by the family of the young layman José Muñoz Calvo. Upon learning of his death, his mother exclaimed with serenity: "May the blood of my son, so innocent, serve for the conversion of those who killed him." A few months later, she sent her daughters to bring food in prison to a female militiaman who had participated in the arrest of her son, provoking the latter's conversion.