José Álvarez-Benavides and 114 companions

The work of this group of martyrs lies in their pastoral witness and ecclesial commitment within the Diocese of Almería and the Archdiocese of Granada. José Álvarez-Benavides y de la Torre distinguished himself through his immense historical culture. He carried out a colossal task of scientific reorganization and cataloging of the Almería Cathedral archives, publishing in 1908 an Alphabetical Index by Subject of the Archive's holdings. He also initiated a History of Almería and an Episcopology that he was unable to complete before his death. He donated his personal library to the seminary and the cathedral.

The 94 other clerics and religious in the group included diocesan priests, a Franciscan religious, and two priests of the Brotherhood of Diocesan Worker Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Agustín Sabater Paulo and Ángel Alonso Escribano), who worked in the formation of seminarians.

The 20 laypeople (18 men and 2 women) were mostly involved in Catholic Action, Nocturnal Adoration, or the Conferences of Saint Vincent de Paul. Among them are two prominent female figures: Carmen Godoy Calvache, a laywoman of Catholic Action from Adra, known for her great generosity toward the poor, who was savagely tortured and drowned in the port of Adra; and Emilia Fernández Rodríguez, nicknamed La Canastera (the basket weaver), a young Gypsy woman from Tíjola. Imprisoned while pregnant, she learned to pray the Rosary in prison thanks to a fellow inmate. Interrogated and placed in solitary confinement for refusing to denounce her catechist, she died of deprivation on January 25, 1939, after giving birth to her daughter. She is the first Gypsy woman to be beatified by the Catholic Church.

The reputation of martyrdom (fama martyrii) of these 115 faithful spread immediately after the war. The diocesan phase of the beatification process opened on April 11, 1995, under the pontificate of Saint John Paul II. The initial diocesan inquiry, which included 93 names, concluded on May 21, 1998. It was subsequently expanded to 22 other candidates during a supplementary inquiry conducted from February 26 to April 9, 1999. The validity of the inquiry was decreed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on February 26, 1999, and the Positio was published in 2003. On June 14, 2016, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing their martyrdom, confirming that they had indeed been murdered in hatred of the faith.

The solemn beatification ceremony took place on March 25, 2017, at the Exhibition and Congress Palace of Aguadulce, in Roquetas de Mar, in the diocese of Almería (Spain). The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, acting as legate for Pope Francis, in the presence of more than 5,000 faithful. A large delegation from the Gypsy community was present to honor the beatification of Emilia Fernández Rodríguez. The liturgical feast of the group was set for November 6. In the diocese of Almería, it is celebrated as an obligatory memorial entitled "Blessed José Álvarez-Benavides, priest, and his companion martyrs." September 13 (the anniversary of the death of José Álvarez-Benavides and several companions at the Cantavieja well) is also observed as an individual or group memorial in certain calendars.

The spirituality of these martyrs is characterized by absolute fidelity to Christ, love for the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary (notably through the prayer of the Rosary), as well as by the heroic exercise of forgiveness toward their persecutors.

The day after their beatification, on March 26, 2017, during the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis honored their memory in these terms: "These priests, religious, and laypeople were heroic witnesses of Christ and his Gospel of peace and fraternal reconciliation. May their example and intercession support the Church's commitment to building the civilization of love."

Their legacy remains alive in Almería and Granada, where their relics are venerated. The figure of Emilia La Canastera has become a universal symbol of simple faith and peaceful resistance, particularly inspiring the pastoral care of the Roma people throughout the world.