FERNANDO MILLÁN ROMERAL ocarm

Letter from the Prior General to the Carmelite Family on the Spanish Carmelite martyrs of the 2 0th century

Fernando Millán Romeral was elected prior Perseverantes general of the Carmelite Order in 2007. He studied in Spain – his native country –, Rome and Ireland. He is a graduate in phi- losophy with a post-graduate qualification in caritate in theology and a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology He has taught theology at the Comillas Pontifical University of Madrid.

EDIZIONI CARMELITANE – Curia Generalizia dei Carmelitani via Giovanni Lanza, 138 – 00184 Roma Perseverantes in caritate

Letter from the Prior General FERNANDO MILLÁN ROMERAL to the Carmelite Family on the Spanish Carmelite martyrs of the 20 th century

2 february 2008 Feast of Jesus’ Presentation at the temple Published by

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N 28 TH OCTOBER THIS YEAR , IN ROME , 498 S PANISH MARTYRS O of the 20 th century were beatified, among which were included sixteen Carmelites of the province of Catalonia (from the monasteries of Olot, Tárrega and Tarrasa) and a cloistered nun from the convent of Vic (Barcelona) 1. They were the blesseds Angel M.ª Prat Hostench, Eliseo M.ª Maneus Besalduch, Anastasio M.ª Dorca Coromina, Eduardo M.ª Serrano Buj, Pedro M.ª Ferrer Marín, Andrés Corsino M.ª Solé Rovira, Miguel M.ª Soler Sala, Juan M.ª Puigmitjà Rubio, Pedro Tomás M.ª Prat Colldecarrera, Eliseo M.ª Fontdecava Quiroga, José M.ª Escoto Ruiz, Elías M.ª Garre Egea, Ludovico M.ª Ayet Canós, Ángel M.ª Presta Batlle, Fernando M.ª Llovera Puigsech, Eufrosino M.ª Raga Nadal and the Blessed Sister María del Patrocinio de San José Badía Flaquer. To this list must be added another sixteen discalced Carmelites from Toledo, fourteen from Barcelona and one from Oviedo, four female Carmelite missionaries from Barcelona and one Carmelite Sister of Charity (Vedruna), also from Barcelona 2. It is for us, as Carmelites, a reason for joy and gratitude to the Universal Church for the recognition of the martyrdom (supreme testimony of faith) of these human beings. It is also a call to the entire Order and the great Carmelite family to continue to confirm our faith with humility, with bravery, and with sincerity. Therefore, I would like to share with you a brief reflection on the implications of the example of these seventeen Carmelites.

3 I. Martyrdom and carmel in the 20 th century

OPE JOHN PAUL II, IN HIS APOSTOLIC LETTER TERTIO MILLENNIO P Adveniente , in 1994, wrote that “ the Church has once again become a Church of martyrs ” (no. 37). In a way, this sentence from the Holy Father also applies to our Order and the great family of Carmel, as there have been many heroic examples of Carmelites who, in the 20 th century, generously gave their lives in confession of their faith. How can we not recall the egregious figure of the Blessed Titus Brandsma, professor at the Catholic University of Nimega (he would become Rector in 1932), journalist and educator, who was able to defend the official stance of the Church of Holland, with regard to education and media, in the face of the racist measures of National Socialism? Faithful to the end in his convictions, and always full of hope, even in the harshest moments of his captivity in numerous prisons and concentration camps, he gave his life, on 26 July 1942, in Dachau. Equally memorable is the figure of Blessed Hilary Januszewski, detained as prior of Krakow (he gave himself up voluntarily in exchange for Father Knoba, a frail, infirm and aged Carmelite who was about to be arrested for praying in Polish). After years in captivity, he volunteered to tend to typhoid sufferers in the concentration camp, close to the end of World War II. He died on 26 March 1945, a month before the liberation, as a true martyr of charity in the hell of Dachau. Worthy of note, in the same way, is the simple but moving testimony of the Blessed Isidore Bakanja, the first African lay blessed, who died in 1909, savagely whipped for refusing to remove the scapular which he had received on the day of his baptism. In this group of witnesses, now officially recognised by the Church, we hope to see included the names of the other Carmelites who died at the hands of the religious persecution carried out in Spain during the Civil War (1936-1939). They are three more groups, corresponding to the Provinces of Castilla, Bética and Arago-valentina. And to these names, those of the cloistered nuns of the Monastery of Encarnación de Valencia (Sister Trinidad

4 Martínez Gil and Sister María Josefa Ricart Casabant) should be added. Each group belongs to a different stage of the corresponding beatification process, which takes place in the various dioceses of Spain and other religious groups of different regions. Together they undoubtedly comprise a true symphony of fidelity to the Lord and the Gospel, to the Church and to the Order. They display that quality of martyrs which is inherent to faith, as well as that quality of Carmel which, since its origins in the Holy Land, has always sought faithful surrender of the individual’s life to the Lord, on many occasions marked with the blood of martyrdom 3.

II. Martyrdom, baptism of blood

IRST OF ALL , IT SHOULD BE MADE CLEAR THAT THE TESTIMONY F of martyrs points to what is central to faith, to the essential, to the very heart of the Gospel. In the early Church, it sometimes happened that a Christian community was persecuted, and the ones who died were not only the Christian faithful, already baptised, who refused to apostatise, to renounce their faith, but also the catechumens who were preparing for baptism by means of a long and demanding catechumenal process, marked by exorcisms (symbolically and ritually expressing the change of allegiance: from the rule of evil to that of the Lord) and scrutinies (in which the authenticity of the candidate’s conversion was examined). In such cases, the Christians would ask what became of those catechumens, as on one hand they had died without baptism (the incorporation into Christ and the Church, the path to salvation), but on the other they had died precisely because of bearing witness to Christ and their faith. The answer of the Priests was clear: they had received the baptism of blood. They had become a part of Christ in another way. Martyrdom was considered a form of baptism and, for some Priests of the Church, was even more valuable than sacramental baptism, as it conformed more directly, more visibly and more closely with Christ himself, being a surrender of one’s very existence. Therefore, if baptism points towards the central mystery of our faith (salvation in Christ who died and was resurrected, of whom

5 we are a part), martyrdom should point in the same direction. If baptism conforms us to Christ in his paschal process (with Him we die as an old man and are reborn as a young one), then martyrdom is a complete and true expression of that “Christification”. As a result, the testimony of the martyrs should motivate us to go deeper into the mystery of the faith, the Gospel, the Good News of salvation. In the same way, it should be a seed for all that the Gospel represents: love, forgiveness, reconciliation, service, etc. These are the values that the testimony of our martyrs points towards, and we should be drawn closer by them. It should be remembered that “martyrdom” means “testimony”. Martyrs are not suicides, nor masochists, nor politicians, nor fanatics, but believers who, at a certain moment, confessed their faith. In the same way we are called, by their example, to bear witness. We will probably not have to do so in such dramatic circumstances, but in the midst of everyday life. With simplicity, with humility, with the language of deeds, with great respect for other ways of thinking and other beliefs, we must proclaim our faith, becoming martyr-witnesses to the truth which gives our life meaning.

III. Martyrdom, forgiveness and joy

WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT TWO FEATURES , WHICH I CONSIDER Ito be essential – and particularly exemplary for our current reality – of the testimony of our martyrs. The first is forgiveness. A common feature of all the blesseds is that, in one way or another, they showed a willingness to forgive their executioners. There was in them no trace of hate, resentment, verbal or physical aggres- siveness towards those who were about to take their lives. In a world which is constantly plagued by violence and hate, their example is without a doubt relevant, provocative, and extremely valuable. There is no need to dwell on the long list of evils and violence that abound all around: violence which sometimes, due to repetition by the media, goes by almost unnoticed. We Carmelites of the 21 st century must not allow ourselves to become active or passive accomplices of violence, of malice, of oppression, of all that is destroying our world.

6 Our Rule, following the inspiration of the book of Acts of the Apostles, provides a model of communication reconciled in the Lord, and through it, a community which becomes a sign and testimony of reconciliation. The Carmelite community is a prophetic sign in the midst of the world that it is possible to overcome barriers (ideological, racial, generational) and that it is possible to live a life of communion in the Risen Christ. The martyrs we remember and celebrate were able to climb that last wall, the one which appears most insurmountable, the wall of hate, and were able to give their lives forgiving those who were about to strike them down. They were able, without a doubt, to remain perseverantes in caritate… In this regard I allow myself to cite the testimony of Father Tirso de Jesús María, a discalced Carmelite of Toledo, who in the hours preceding his execution, wrote a letter to his family which read: “May you all be good. Forgive and bless and love everyone, as I love and forgive and bless them” 4. In the same way, Father Fernando M.ª Llovera, of the monastery of Olot, called the Governor and those who made up the firing squad to the area where the prisoners were held to hear from his lips that he bore them no malice, and that he forgave them, causing amazement in them all. The second surprising feature in the testimony of our martyrs is that many of them lived that tragic moment, and the terrible hours which preceded it, with impressive serenity and even joy. These brothers and sisters, without any kind of fanaticism, conscious of the dramatic and terrible nature of what they were going through, but with the peace of those living in Christian hope and complete trust in God, display a highmindedness and a transcending vision of life which provide a wonderful model for our time, in which we are such slaves to the immediate, to our small and sometimes petty interests, to what is productive or profitable. In them, the words of the book of Apocalypse are fulfilled: ”… they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Revelation 12:11). Sister María Patrocinio de San José, the Carmelite martyr of the Monastery of Vic, used to repeat to the sisters of her community, even in the most terrible moments, when the danger that awaited them could be felt: “ Do not fear. Whatever the Lord wills will happen. We are in his hands… ” 5

7 This total trust in the will of God, and an unwavering hope, helped them to show their joy even in the most painful moments. The martyrs were able not only to give their lives with serenity and joy, but even to encourage their companions in prison, who had run out of strength or were falling into despair and desperation. John Paul II, in his Post-synodal exhortation, Ecclesia in Europa (no. 13), proclaimed that “ the martyr is the supreme incarnation of the Gospel and of hope ”. In this sense, a letter from one of our martyrs (Father Fernando M.ª Llovera Puigsech, referred to above) on the eve of his execution in the castle of Montjuich, in Barcelona, is particularly moving. It is a letter addressed to his family, in which he left this wonderful declaration:

Luis, Mercedes, Asunción, my dearest brother and sisters: I have just been told that tomorrow, at first light, I will go to heaven. Yes, my brother and sisters: such is human justice. Our Lord God will give me better justice, to which I wholeheartedly give myself to. Do not suffer for me, as I am in high spirits and fear nothing. I have spent these last days happy, with other companions in misfortune, which for us is happiness. I am sending you a visitor who will tell you of my good spirits. I take joy from the fact that in these moments, as a good priest, I have taken souls to heaven. Now I shall confess and receive the Good Lord Jesus. I shall pray for you from heaven; do the same for me from the earth. I am very happy; I feel within me a great strength of spirit. If you saw me you would not think that I am condemned to death, but to rise to life. Regards and best wishes to all, brothers, sisters, aunts and nephews. Goodbye, until heaven. 21 November 1936 Tomorrow to heaven. What joy! Fernando Llovera 6

Let us not forget that the martyrdom of our brothers and sisters – indeed, all martyrdom – even though it occurred in particular historical circumstances, certainly completely transcends any historical circumstance. The beatification ceremony was exemplary in this sense. The thirties were difficult years in Spain and in Europe: various forms of tension, indiscriminate violence, repression, ignorance, unemployment and poverty (always a fertile breeding

8 ground for violence), political radicalisms of all persuasions. A combination of events which led up to the Spanish Civil War and, later, World War II, both accompanied by a cavalcade of death, tragedy, destruction and misery. We celebrate the fact that in this context (without a doubt complex and difficult 7) these Carmelites proclaimed their faith, giving their lives with love and bravery. This celebration does not in any way deny that there were other terrible and unjust deaths in the same circumstances, or that others (many of them in an honest and noble fashion) gave their lives for ideals they believed were fair, whatever they may have been. Both the Eucharistic celebration of Sunday 28 October 2007, presided over by Cardinal Saraiva Martins (Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints) and the Thanksgiving Eucharist for the new blesseds, celebrated by Cardinal Bertone (Vatican Secretary of State) on Monday 29 October, were imbued at all times with a spirit of reconciliation, forgiveness, joy, and peace, far from the polarisation of good and evil, of political issues or other dangerous and easily manipulated matter s 8. Cardinal Bertone, in his homily, insisted on the following:

These martyrs were not offered to God’s people for their political significance, nor for fighting against anyone, but for giving their lives as testimony to their love of Christ, in full awareness of being members of the Church. Therefore, at the time of their death, they all acted in the same way, addressing those who were about to kill them with words of mercy and forgiveness.

No believer, therefore, should feel distanced or excluded from this celebration, whatever their political persuasion; nor should any believer use this celebration to defend political ideas, or even worse, to lessen or attack others. To do so would be to have misunderstood the ultimate significance of what we are celebrating, and to be out of touch with the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation that these martyrs sowed and watered with their blood. May their virtues and their intercession help us to create a political and social environment of respect, of dialogue, of disinterested service to the wellbeing of society, and especially those most in need.

9 IV. Martyrdom and communion

URING THE FIRST PROVINCIAL CHAPTERS OVER WHICH I D presided as Prior General of the Order, I have often dwelt on the spirit of communion which, above and beyond any kind of difference (which is inevitable, and in some ways positive), should always prevail in our communities and provinces. In the liturgy of the Church, since time immemorial, the altar on which the Eucharist is celebrated has been built on the grave of a martyr. In many cases, the basilica or church subsequently built would receive the name of that martyr, as is the case with St. Peter or St. Paul, in Rome. This is a powerful representation of the profound relationship between the martyrs and the sacrifice of Christ himself. The death and resurrection of Christ, the Mystery of Salvation, incorporates us and makes us one people, in one body, in one communion, in one holy assembly. Communion and martyrdom are therefore profoundly interlinked, through the unique sacrifice of Christ. The blood of the martyrs is not just seed of new Christians , in the famous words of Tertullian (Apol. 50, 13: CCL 1, 171), but also the seed of the Church and of community. Cardinal Bertone insisted on this aspect in his homily for the thanksgiving mass when he asked that the confession of the martyrs be a vigorous call to revive faith and intensify ecclesial communion. In this sense, in spite of the fact that they all belonged to the then Commissariat of Catalonia, the recently beatified martyrs are also a demonstration of the internationality of the Order, its missionary nature and openness to other cultures and geographical areas. They are a clear reflection of the fact that the communion born of the mystery of Christ, which they embraced in such an intimate and special fashion through their martyrdom, has no barriers or frontiers. Many of them belonged to and were trained in the Arago- valentine Province, before the creation in 1932 of the Commissariat of Catalonia; some of them dedicated years of their life to the new foundations of Puerto Rico, such as Father Ludovico M.ª Ayet Canós (who worked tirelessly on the island of Vieques before moving to Isla Margarita, in Venezuela) and Father Fernando M.ª

10 Llovera Puigsech (who was a parish priest in Ciales). Father Eliseo M.ª Maneus Besalduch lived in Brazil for a number of years (in Recife and Goyana, in Pernambuco state) and brother J. M.ª Escoto Ruiz was Mexican, although he entered the Carmel in Spain following a conversation with Father Bartolomé F. M.ª Xiberta in our church in Traspontina, Rome. All this demonstrates the internationality of Carmel, of the true communion which is not limited to the ideological, the national, or the similar, but reaches beyond human barriers and divisions. In the face of those who sow discord and division – and there are many – the testimony of the martyrs reminds us that communion, the koinonía of the early church, is not something that is optional to Christian life, but is an essentials part of it. Hence, anything that creates division – even in the name of a higher commitment, of a more radical life, of greater piety or prayer, or of the highest ideals – is not truly Christian, does not come from the Spirit of God, does not answer the will of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

ARTYRS ARE IN THE CHURCH A TESTIMONY AND A TRUE M prophetic sign for us all. They encourage us with the race they have run (cf. 2 Timothy 4: 6-8) and their faithfulness to the Gospel and to Christ; they question us and invite us to bear witness also, in our own social context; they remind us that only good can defeat evil, and we must not be active or passive accomplices to evil. Sister María del Patrocinio de San José, shortly before she died, defending her purity, cried out in her Catalan tongue: ¡Aixó, no! ¡Abans morir que fer aixó! (Not that! Better to die than do that!) 9. May we too, Carmelites of the 21 st century (nuns, religious and lay) be able to maintain that purity of heart (the puritas cordis , great treasure of our spiritual tradition) in the face of ay evil: violence in all its forms, injustice, hedonistic selfishness, abuses of all kinds, the destruction of the planet, flagrant inequalities, contempt for human life, etc. To take hope from good, to take courage from our faith and our Carmelite vocation, to be true to the Gospel, to sow the seeds of

11 communion and reconciliation, to generously give ourselves to the proclamation of the Good News, to explore more deeply our Carmelite charism… To lead such a life is the most fitting homage we can pay to our martyrs. Far from sterile polemic and manipulations of any kind, their faces are a true injection of enthusiasm (a life given with generosity, in freedom) for the entire Carmelite family. From today, every year we can celebrate the memory of blessed Angel M.ª Prat Hostench and his Bellow martyrs. We can invoke them, ask for their intercession and remember their example with renewed commitment. In the words of the Evangelist Luke, “ their names are written in heaven ” (Luke 10:20). May the blesseds Angel, Eliseo, Anastasio, Eduardo, Pedro, Andrés Corsino, Miguel, Juan, Pedro Tomás, Eliseo, José, Elías, Ludovico, Ángel, Fernando, Eufrosino and the blessed Sister María del Patrocinio de San José intercede on our behalf. And may Mary, Queen of Martyrs, our Patron and Sister, guide and accompany us.

Prior General

12 Endnotes

1 Cf. Positio super martyrio Angeli Mariae Prat Hostench et XVI sociorum (Congregatio de Causis Sanctorum , Romae). For a general biography, see (in Spanish): R. M.ª LÓPEZ MELÚS , Dieron razón de su fe. Diecisiete mártires del Carmelo de Cataluña (Amacar, Onda-Castellón 2007); and (in English): R. M.ª VALABEK , Profiles in holiness I (Edizioni Carmelitane, Rome 1996) 81-111. 2 For a complete list of those beatified, their religious significance, biographies, etc. see CONFERENCIA EPISCOPAL ESPAÑOLA , Quiénes son y de dónde vienen. 498 mártires del siglo XX en España [M. E. GONZÁLEZ RODRÍGUEZ , ed.] (Edice, Madrid 2007). [no English version available]. 3 For a summary of the presence of martyrdom in the history of the Order, see I. MARTÍNEZ CARRETERO , Los Carmelitas. Historia de la Orden del Carmen VI (Figuras del Carmelo) (BAC, Madrid 1996) 279-404 [no English version available]. 4 Cf. J. V. RODRÍGUEZ RODRÍGUEZ , La dichosa ventura. 16 Carmelitas descalzos en Toledo (BAC, Madrid 2007) 382-383. [no English version available]. 5 Cf. R. M.ª LÓPEZ MELÚS , La azucena de Vic. Beata María del Patrocinio. Carmelita mártir de la pureza (Amacar, Onda-Castellón 2007) 141, 144 [no English version available]. 6 Positio super martyrio , Summarium, 347-348 (§ 127). Cf. R. M.ª LÓPEZ MELÚS , Dieron razón de su fe, 216 [no English version available]. 7 The most complete account of this persecution can be found in: A. MONTERO MORENO, Historia de la persecución religiosa en España, 1936-1939 (BAC Madrid, 2000) [no English version available]. 8 Both homilies can be found in (among other places) L’Osservatore Romano (29-30 October 2007) 6-7. 9 Positio super martyrio, Summarium, 21 (§ 796).

13 Perseverantes in caritate

Letter from the Prior General FERNANDO MILLÁN ROMERAL to the Carmelite Family on the Spanish Carmelite martyrs of the 20 th century

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www.ocarm.org FERNANDO MILLÁN ROMERAL ocarm

Letter from the Prior General to the Carmelite Family on the Spanish Carmelite martyrs of the 2 0th century

Fernando Millán Romeral was elected prior Perseverantes general of the Carmelite Order in 2007. He studied in Spain – his native country –, Rome and Ireland. He is a graduate in phi- losophy with a post-graduate qualification in caritate in theology and a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology He has taught theology at the Comillas Pontifical University of Madrid.

EDIZIONI CARMELITANE – Curia Generalizia dei Carmelitani via Giovanni Lanza, 138 – 00184 Roma