Anti-Christian violence claimed the lives of numerous clergy, religious, and lay Catholics in Spain during the 1930s, producing one of the most extensively studied chapters in the modern history of the Church.
The memory of that religious persecution, however, has largely been constructed around its martyrs, leaving in the background those who endured the same brutality but did not receive the palm of martyrdom.
A new book by Spanish priest and theologian Monsignor Melchor Sánchez de Toca Alameda brings to light the stories of Catholics who survived the upheaval and violence of those years.
Published in Spanish by publishing house Didaskalos under the title “Los mártires que no fueron. Salvados, clandestinos, refugiados, evadidos y muertos de la persecución religiosa en España (1936–1939)” (“The Martyrs Who Were Not: Survivors, Underground Catholics, Refugees, Escapees and Victims of Religious Persecution in Spain, 1936–1939”), the book recounts the experiences of people who escaped death, lived in hiding, fled dangerous areas, or died during the Spanish Civil War under circumstances that did not meet the Church’s criteria for martyrdom.
Sánchez de Toca, a relator at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, has worked on numerous causes of martyrdom connected with the religious persecution of the 1930s.
That experience, he told ACI Prensa, inspired him to begin collecting the stories of those whose lives had received less attention.
“Those who went through the persecution and did not die in it, or who died during that period but without the grace of martyrdom, had been left somewhat in the shadows,” he said.
Would-be martyrs
The book presents a broad collection of men and women who endured the same trial as the martyrs but met a different fate.
Some escaped death through unexpected circumstances. Others remained hidden for years while sustaining a Church forced underground. Some fled the most dangerous areas, while others died during the war without their deaths being recognized as martyrdom.
“Not all saints who live through a religious persecution attain the palm of martyrdom by dying in it, and not everyone who dies during a persecution is a martyr,” Sánchez de Toca explained.
Rather than attempting an exhaustive catalog, the author selected figures who have been canonized or are currently the subjects of beatification causes, offering a different perspective on the dramatic events of the period.
Among the better-known figures are St. Maravillas of Jesus, St. Josemaría Escrivá, Blessed Álvaro del Portillo, Venerable José María García Lahiguera, Blessed Pere Tarrés, Isidoro Zorzano, and Servant of God Carmen Hidalgo, co-founder of the Oblate Sisters of Christ the Priest.
The book also features lesser-known people whose lives were marked by the persecution, including Ismael de Tomelloso, known as “the saintly militiaman”; Antonio Rivera, called “the angel of the Alcázar”; and Jesuit Father Fernando Huidobro, a chaplain to the Spanish Legion.
Those three cases initially attracted the author’s interest. Although all suffered the consequences of the war and two died from wounds or at the front, none can be considered martyrs in the strict sense.
“There were attempts to present them as martyrs, especially during the postwar period through Francoist propaganda,” Sánchez de Toca said.
They were sometimes described using a phrase common at the time, “fallen for God and for Spain.” The circumstances of their deaths, however, did not satisfy the requirements established by the Church for the recognition of martyrdom.
The underground Church
One of the book’s most distinctive sections reconstructs the daily lives of Catholics who remained in Republican-controlled territory and were forced to practice their faith clandestinely.
A chapter devoted to “the underground and the prayerful home front” recounts the experiences of courageous men and women who organized secret networks to assist priests in hiding, enable the celebration of the sacraments and keep Catholic religious practice alive.
“They created assistance networks that would not be out of place in the best spy novels,” Sánchez de Toca said.
Isidoro Zorzano, Venerable José María García Lahiguera and Mother Carmen Hidalgo organized a network of financial assistance for priests who had survived.
“They provided them with the materials needed to celebrate Mass and then redistributed Communion, taking it to homes through underground agents,” he explained.
Crossing the front lines
Another chapter recounts the stories of Catholics who crossed the front lines through exceptionally dangerous operations.
They include Blessed Álvaro del Portillo, who crossed through the battlefront; Servant of God Tomás Alvira, who accompanied St. Josemaría Escrivá across the Pyrenees; and Venerable Sister Justa Domínguez de Vidaurreta, a superior of the Daughters of Charity who escaped Madrid after numerous difficulties and eventually settled in Pamplona.
The burden of survival
Sánchez de Toca was also struck by what is commonly known as survivor’s guilt, a psychological phenomenon experienced by many who escaped persecution.
Although a chapter devoted to the subject was removed for editorial reasons, the author said many survivors spent the rest of their lives wrestling with a troubling question: Why had they survived while so many of their companions had been killed?
“It is not always easy to answer the question: ‘Why did the Lord not want me to be a martyr when so many of my companions were killed?’” he said.
Saved at the last moment
Some of the book’s most dramatic passages recount the experiences of people who escaped what appeared to be certain death.
One of the most striking accounts concerns an Augustinian friar imprisoned in Madrid during the persecution.
According to Sánchez de Toca, the friar’s hands had already been tied and he was preparing to be transported to Paracuellos when an unknown person cut his ropes and whispered: “Turn around and go back to your cell. Don’t look back.”
The friar obeyed mechanically and survived.
“He returned to his cell and began trembling and convulsing from the post-traumatic shock so violently that several companions had to hold him down,” Sánchez de Toca recounted.
Others survived because of errors in prisoner lists or the unexpected intervention of anonymous people. Many interpreted their rescue as an act of divine providence and spent the rest of their lives wondering why they had been chosen to survive.
The author also addresses crimes committed by Nationalist forces. Father Huidobro, for example, denounced the summary executions of prisoners in complaints submitted to Gen. Francisco Franco’s headquarters.
A lesson for today
Beyond their historical value, Sánchez de Toca said he believes the biographies offer lessons of particular relevance to Christians today.
“They all lived with a clear vocation to martyrdom,” he said.
According to the author, martyrdom was part of the spiritual horizon of many Spanish Catholics even before the outbreak of the Civil War.
“This can be seen in their letters, homilies, and conversations as an expression of their willingness to give their lives for Christ if necessary,” he said.
Sánchez de Toca also highlighted the extraordinary apostolic creativity Catholics demonstrated under extreme circumstances.
“This is another enduring lesson for our time,” he concluded. “The Holy Spirit inspires apostolic creativity in the circumstances in which each person lives.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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