Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and his 11 companions were twelve Spanish Redemptorist religious martyred in Madrid in 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and beatified in 2022.
Contemporaries
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Guided reading
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Biography
Presentation of the martyrdom of Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and his 11 Redemptorist companions in Madrid in 1936.
Blessed Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and his 11 companions form a group of twelve Spanish martyrs belonging to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). They were murdered in 1936 in Madrid, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, victims of a violent religious persecution.
During the summer and autumn of 1936, the persecution against the Catholic Church in Madrid reached a level of extreme violence. Convents were stormed, churches looted and profaned, and religious hunted down. The twelve Redemptorist martyrs belonged to the two communities that the congregation then possessed in the Spanish capital: that of the Santuario del Perpetuo Socorro (in the Chamberí district) and that of the Basílica de San Miguel (annexed to the apostolic nunciature).
Forced to flee their residences and hide in friendly families, boarding houses, or hospices, they were all captured by republican militias and executed because of their faith and religious identity:
- Crescencio Severo Ortiz Blanco (priest), Ángel Martínez Miquélez (priest), and Brother Bernardo Sáiz Gutiérrez (Gabriel) were arrested on July 20, 1936, while attempting to take refuge in an apartment near the San Miguel community. They were shot the same day at the Casa de Campo. - Brother Niceto Pérez del Palomar Quincoces, elderly and almost blind, and Brother Gregorio Zugasti Fernández de Esquide, who was caring for him and refused to abandon him, were arrested on August 14, 1936. They were executed on August 16, 1936, at kilometer 8 of the Valencia road. - Brother Aniceto Lizasoain Lizaso was arrested in a boarding house on Larra Street and executed on August 18, 1936, near the Chamartín cemetery. - Father José María Urruchi Ortiz and Brother José Joaquín Erviti Insausti (Pascual) were denounced and arrested on August 21, 1936. Their bodies were found the following morning on the Getafe road. - Father Antonio Girón González, who had taken refuge in a hospice run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, was arrested during the occupation of the building by militiamen and shot on August 30, 1936. - Father Donato Jiménez Bibiano was arrested, locked in the basements of the clandestine prison (checa) of Fomento, and then executed on September 17 or 18, 1936, in Fuencarral. - Father Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio, superior and provincial consultor, was arrested on September 17, 1936. Imprisoned at the Cárcel Modelo of Madrid, he was executed on November 7, 1936, at Paracuellos de Jarama. - Brother Rafael Perea Pinedo (Máximo) was captured and executed on November 2, 1936, at El Pardo.
Life and work
The apostolic commitment of the priests and the humble service of the coadjutor brothers within the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
The life of these twelve blessed is intimately linked to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, founded in 1732 by Saint Alphonsus Liguori. This congregation has the mission of announcing the Gospel to the most abandoned, particularly through parish missions, spiritual retreats, and education.
The six priests of the group distinguished themselves by their apostolic zeal and their pastoral responsibilities: - Father Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio served as a teacher, missionary, and provincial consultor. He also directed the magazine El Perpetuo Socorro from 1912 to 1918, widely spreading Marian devotion. - Father Antonio Girón González was a brilliant formator and teacher, endowed with a deep interior life and great theological culture. - Fathers Crescencio Severo Ortiz Blanco, Ángel Martínez Miquélez, José María Urruchi Ortiz, and Donato Jiménez Bibiano worked tirelessly in preaching, the administration of the sacraments, and the spiritual accompaniment of the faithful.
The six coadjutor brothers (or lay brothers) supported community life through humble but indispensable tasks: - Brother Bernardo Sáiz Gutiérrez (Gabriel), Brother Niceto Pérez del Palomar Quincoces, Brother Gregorio Zugasti Fernández de Esquide, Brother Aniceto Lizasoain Lizaso, Brother José Joaquín Erviti Insausti (Pascual), and Brother Rafael Perea Pinedo (Máximo) served as porters, sacristans, cooks, carpenters, or gardeners. Their daily life was marked by continuous prayer and fraternal service, in the image of Brother Gregorio who chose to link his fate to that of Brother Niceto, who was infirm and blind, witnessing to heroic charity.
Path to Holiness
The process of recognition of martyrdom in odium fidei by Pope Francis in 2021.
The reputation of martyrdom of these twelve religious spread immediately within the Redemptorist family and among the Spanish faithful as soon as the Civil War ended. Their confreres quickly gathered the testimonies and documents necessary to open their cause for beatification. The diocesan inquiry took place in Madrid from September 19, 2006, to November 27, 2007. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated this inquiry on March 24, 2010. After the positive examination by the theological consultants on September 24, 2020, the cardinals and bishops who are members of the Congregation formally recognized their martyrdom on April 20, 2021. On April 24, 2021, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree officially recognizing that Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and his 11 companions were killed in hatred of the faith (in odium fidei), thus allowing their beatification without a miracle being required.
Beatification and canonization
The solemn beatification celebration in Madrid in October 2022 and the tribute from Pope Francis.
The solemn beatification ceremony was celebrated on October 22, 2022, in the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena in Madrid. The Mass was presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. The event brought together many faithful, diocesan priests, Redemptorist religious led by their Superior General, Father Rogério Gomes, as well as more than 130 members of the families of the new blesseds. The following day, October 23, 2022, during the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Francis honored the memory of the new blesseds, describing them as "witnesses of Christ to the point of bloodshed" and inviting the crowd to applaud them warmly. Their common liturgical feast is set for November 6. They are celebrated on that day alongside the six other Redemptorist martyrs of Cuenca, beatified in 2013.
Spirituality and legacy
The Alphonsian spirituality of the martyrs, their witness of faith in the face of death, and their legacy for the Church.
The spirituality of the twelve Redemptorist martyrs of Madrid is based on the Alphonsian charism: an intimate union with Christ the Redeemer, an absolute trust in Divine Providence, and a filial devotion to the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Their martyrdom was not an isolated act, but the culmination of a life of daily fidelity and prayer. Faced with imminent death, they prepared themselves spiritually in prison through mutual reconciliation, the recitation of the Rosary, and the clandestine celebration of the Eucharist. They forgave their executioners, manifesting a deep peace that edified their fellow cellmates.
Their legacy remains a model of courage and consistency of life for the contemporary Church. The chalice used by Father Donato Jiménez, preserved and carried in procession as a relic during the beatification Mass, symbolizes their Eucharistic sacrifice and their absolute fidelity to Christ.
Frequently asked questions about Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and 11 companions (12)
Who was Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and 11 companions (12)?
Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and his 11 companions were twelve Spanish Redemptorist religious martyred in Madrid in 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and beatified in 2022.
How did Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and 11 companions (12) die?
Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and 11 companions (12) suffered martyrdom for the Christian faith (20th century).
Which saints were contemporaries of Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and 11 companions (12)?
Contemporaries include: Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, Felipe de Jesús Munárriz and 50 companions, Mariano de Jesús Euse Hoyos and Teresa of Jesus of the Andes.
What are the other names of Vicente Nicasio Renuncio Toribio and 11 companions (12)?
Other forms of the name: Vincenzo Nicasio Renuncio Toribio e 11 compagni.
Annexes & related entities
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Key Events
- Era / death: 1936
- Beatification in 2022 by Francis