Georgia Martyrs Killed for Defending Marriage to Be Beatified in U.S. This October

Headed for sainthood? Catholic Church to beatify friars butchered in America for defending Christian marriage

Five Franciscan friars who traveled from Spain in the late 16th century to what is now Georgia were savagely murdered for defending the dignity of the sacrament of marriage. They are now well on their way to sainthood.Monsignor Fred Nijem, drawing from the notes of Fr. Conrad Harkins — the vice-postulator for the canonization cause of the Georgia Martyrs — explained in Southern Cross magazine that "the missionaries met their death near present-d…

Georgia Martyrs Killed for Defending Marriage to Be Beatified in U.S. This October

Diocese of Savannah Five Spanish Franciscan missionaries — Father Pedro de Corpa, Father Blas Rodríguez, Father Miguel de Añon, Brother Antonio de Badajóz, and Father Francisco de Veráscola — were martyred in 1597 in the present-day state of Georgia. Five Spanish Franciscan friars, collectively known as the 'Georgia Martyrs,' will be beatified in Savannah, Georgia, on Oct. 31.