Georgia Martyrs beatified in Savannah

More than 10,000 Catholics from around the world gathered in Savannah, Georgia, on All Hallow’s Eve, Oct. 31, 2026, to celebrate the beatification of the Georgia Martyrs, five Spanish Franciscan friars who gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel in 1597.

Br. Friar Pedro de Corpa, OFM, and his four companions were serving the Guale people in the modern-day Diocese of Savannah when he opposed the second marriage of a young, baptized heir to a Guale chiefdom who wanted to take a second wife. He and his brothers were killed for defending the sanctity of marriage.

Despite the death of their brothers, Franciscan friars returned to their missions among the Guale people on the barrier islands in 1605. Today, the martyrs are remembered for their commitment to promote the family, preserve morality and build a Christian society.

“The Georgia Martyrs took seriously the invitation of St. Francis to live sine proprio, to hold nothing of their own,” said Minister Provincial Br. Michael Perry, OFM, of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “They learned how to enter into the people’s lives and really do as St. Francis invited us to do – not to just go to a people but really go among the people.

“By our very Christian nature, we're call and sent to be brothers and sisters among all people,” he continued. “More than 10,000 Christians came here to celebrate this great event and to say this is who we are becoming. This is who God is calling us to be. So let's ask for the prayers of our brothers, the five martyrs. Let's pray that we might be willing to offer our lives in mission, being mission of God to the world today: inspiring hope, promoting peace and reconciliation among all people.”

Cardinal Frank Leo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, presided over the bilingual liturgy as papal legate, representing Pope Leo XIV. The Savannah Convention Center was packed with faithful eager to witness the beatification, which was held 28 days after the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order. It is the sixth beatification to be held in the United States.

The Cause of the Georgia Martyrs was opened in the 1950s by the Order of Friars Minor and taken on by the Diocese of Savannah in 1980. The liturgy was attended by Franciscan friars from the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as well as many bishops, diocesan priests, sisters and other religious. Among the principal celebrants were Minister Provincial Br. Michael Perry, OFM, of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe; Br. Giovangiuseppe Califano, OFM, Postulator General of the Order of Friars Minor; and Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, OFM, of Merida-Badajoz, Spain, who leads the archdiocese where Friar Antonio de Badajoz, OFM, grew up. The archbishop was accompanied by the priest who leads Friar Antonio’s home parish.

During his homily, Cardinal Leo described the martyrs as “shining witnesses of the Gospel” who continue to challenge Christians to remain faithful to Christ while engaging others in the spirit of St. Francis: through dialogue, respect and service.

“Having left everyone and everything behind to follow the Lord, a calling which brought them across the Atlantic to this very place, they fulfilled Christ's words with great zeal and vigor,” he said. “Among the varied gifts we can give to others, faith is among the greatest.”

“The example of the martyrs helps our young people, in particular, to appreciate that no greater treasure can be found in this earthly existence than following Jesus with an unprovided heart,” he added.

During the Rite of Beatification, Br. Michael read the biographies of Friars Pedro de Corpa, OFM, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, OFM, Miguel de Anon, OFM, Antonio de Badajoz, OFM, and Francisco de Veráscola, OFM:

Bl. Friar Pedro de Corpa, OFM

Friar Pedro was born in the small village of Corpa, in the territory of the present Diocese of Madrid-Alcalá, around 1560. Ordained a priest of the Province of the Friars Minor of Castile around 1584, he left Spain to serve as a missionary in the New World on July 21, 1587 – shipmates with Bl. Friar Antonio de Badajoz, OFM. One of the more experienced friars, Friar Pedro was eventually assigned to the chief village of Tolomato, where he built a mission and served the Guale people, teaching them about Jesus and baptizing those drawn to the Catholic faith.

Bl. Friar Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, OFM

Friar Blas was born in the Spanish village of Cuacos, near the border with Portugal, beween 1550 and 1560. A priest of the Discalced Reform in the Alcantarina Province of the Friars Minor of San Gabriel, he came to the New World in 1590 and was assigned to the village of Tupiqui, close by Bl. Friar Pedro de Corpa. The two were able to meet from time to time, easing the strain of their solidarity and difficult lifestyle, and providing the opportunity to consult with one another about the canonical and pastoral matters that arose when imparting the sacraments to indoctrinated Indigenous people, such as the custom of taking multiple wives.

Bl. Friar Miguel de Añon, OFM

In 1595, Friar Miguel, a priest of the Province of the Friars Minor of Castile, responded to a call for service in the missions of La Florida. Although the year of his birth is uncertain, the missionary was probably in his forties at the time of his martyrdom. Sailing on the same Spanish vessel as Bl. Friar Francisco de Veráscola, OFM, he joined Bl. Friar Antonio de Badajoz, OFM, at Mission Santa Catalina de Guale (present- day St. Catherines Island), which was expected to become an ideal mission station due to its strategic central location on the barrier islands. He quickly established a reputation as an esteemed and holy man with a beautiful singing voice, especially beloved and respected by the Guale.

Bl. Friar Antonio de Badajoz, OFM

Friar Antonio arrived in the New World from Spain in 1587, sailing on the same ship as Bl. Friar Pedro de Corpa, OFM. A lay religious of Alcantarina Province of the Friars Minor of San Gabriel, he was the only one of the Georgia Martyrs not ordained to the priesthood. Having spent ten years in La Florida, his command of the Guale language was excellent, and he served as interpreter for Bl. Friar Miguel de Añon, OFM. When the two were assigned to Santa Catalina de Guale. Catechizing the natives was a priority, but the friars were also tasked with restoring the importance of the mission, which had been largely abandoned after the Jesuit withdrawal in 1571.

Bl. Francisco de Veráscola, OFM

Friar Francisco was born on Feb. 13,1564, in the present-day Beraskola neighborhood of Gordexola, a town in the Basque region of Spain. He entered the Franciscan Province of Cantabria and was ordained to the priesthood in 1590. One of 12 Franciscans volunteering to help the missions in La Florida, he set out for the New World on June 10, 1595, sailing on the same ship as Bl. Friar Miguel de Añon, OFM. Due to his enormous stature, he was nicknamed “the Cantabrian giant.” He often joined the Guale youth in athletic games, and he occasionally served as bodyguard for visitors to the Georgia coast.

The day before the beatification, a group of bishops, priests, Franciscans and other pilgrims traveled to St. Catherines Island, where Friars Antonio and Miguel served at a mission church. After the Spanish left the island in 1680, the mission was lost for centuries until it was rediscovered by archeologist David Hurst Thomas in the 1980s.

Visiting the mission was “incredibly humbling” Provincial Councilor Br. Peter Boegel, OFM, told OSV News. The challenges they faced – leaving home, traveling across the ocean, learning the Guale language and customs – and their ultimate sacrifice made him consider how he should embrace a willingness to make scarifies to “promote the kingdom of God.”

The late Fr. Conrad Harkins, OFM, then-vice postulator for the cause of the Georgia Martyrs, provided invaluable information about the Franciscans to the archeologists as the mission was excavated and delivered the final report on the martyrs to the Vatican in 2007. He and David were recognized by the Diocese of Savannah during the Beatification Mass for their extraordinary contributions to the cause. Fr. Conrad passed on Aug. 31, 2020. Other Franciscans who supported the cause were also acknowledged in the program.

O Lord Jesus Christ, reward the apostolic zeal of Friar Pedro de Corpa and his four companion friars, Blas, Miguel, Antonio and Francisco, who labored for the spiritual well-being of the native Guale people of Georgia and gave their lives in witness to the Christian faith.

Through their merits and intercession, graciously grant the favor I humbly ask of You, so that, for the glory of Your Name, their heroic sacrifice may be officially recognized by the Church.