Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila

In Arbeca, Dr. Mullerat practiced his medical profession with exceptional dedication, also extending his visits to the neighboring towns of Puiggròs and La Floresta. Known for his boundless charity, he treated the most destitute patients for free and would discreetly leave money under their pillows to enable them to purchase medicine. Beyond physical care, he looked after the spiritual health of his patients, encouraging them to receive the sacraments and accompanying the dying with profound solicitude.

A man of great culture, he founded and directed the local bimonthly newspaper L'Escut from 1923 to 1926, written entirely in Catalan. This publication, which aimed to be the "defender of all sound ideology," disseminated the social doctrine of the Church, addressed issues of morality, education, agriculture, and local culture, while also publishing poems by renowned Catalan authors.

Although he did not belong to any political party, his integrity and dedication led to his election as mayor of Arbeca in 1924, a position he held until March 1930. During his terms, he worked actively for the material and moral progress of the municipality: he created the municipal library, modernized the drinking water supply system, had the bells of the parish church restored, and rehabilitated a traditional local dance, the "Bal des Valenciens." As chief magistrate, he firmly defended the Catholic faith, fought against public blasphemy, and solemnly presided over the enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus within the town hall.

With the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, and then the outbreak of the Civil War in July 1936, the climate of religious persecution intensified dramatically. Aware of the danger that weighed upon him due to his professed faith and his past as a Catholic mayor, Dr. Mullerat refused to flee to Zaragoza so as not to abandon his patients. He declared: "Whatever happens, I will never abandon them."\n\nOn the morning of August 13, 1936, a group of Republican militiamen appeared at his home to arrest him. Before being taken away, he kissed a crucifix and said to his wife: "Dolores, forgive them as I forgive them."\n\nDuring his temporary detention at the militia headquarters, one of his guards accidentally wounded himself with his weapon. Despite his situation as a prisoner, Dr. Mullerat used his medical kit to immediately treat and bandage the wound of his persecutor.\n\nShortly after, he was forced to board a truck in the company of five other Catholics from Arbeca condemned to death: José Sans Balsells, Lorenzo Vidal Ximenos, Lorenzo Segarra Pau, Juan Gras Navés, and Manuel Pont Gras. As the vehicle was preparing to leave, a mother approached, weeping, to beg that the doctor be allowed to examine her seriously ill son. The militiamen stopped the truck. Dr. Mullerat examined the child, reassured the mother by saying: "Do not cry. Your son will not die," then wrote a prescription in a notebook, adding: "Give this medicine to your son and pray; God will help you." The father of this healed child was himself part of the firing squad.\n\nConcerned for his other patients, the doctor also took the time to write on a piece of paper the list of patients he was scheduled to visit, requesting that it be given to his colleague, Dr. Galcerán, so that they would not remain without care.

Dr. Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila and his five companions were taken to the place known as El Pla, located at kilometer 3 of the road connecting Arbeca to Les Borges Blanques. They were shot there. While some were still dying, the militiamen doused the bodies with gasoline and set them on fire. His reported last words were: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" and "Long live Christ the King!". He was 39 years old.

The beatification process was opened in the Archdiocese of Tarragona on July 9, 2003, and the diocesan phase closed on April 26, 2004. The Positio was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 2014.

On November 7, 2018, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing his martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith).

The beatification ceremony was celebrated on March 23, 2019, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santa Tecla in Tarragona. It was presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, acting on behalf of Pope Francis. His liturgical memorial is set for August 13, the day of his birth into Heaven.

The figure of Blessed Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila exemplifies lay holiness in daily life. An attentive husband, a devoted father, and a rigorous professional, he lived his baptism as a radical call to serve others. His life perfectly illustrates the Church's teaching on the commitment of the laity in society, showing that the practice of medicine and politics can become the highest form of Christian charity.

His spiritual legacy is sealed by his heroic attitude in the face of death. By choosing to treat his wounded executioner, by writing a final prescription to save a child, and by explicitly forgiving his assassins, he responded to violence with love and to martyrdom with the total gift of self, becoming a timeless model of reconciliation and faith lived to the very end.