Catholic Martyrs That Died In Spanish Civil War To Have Monument ( Louisiana Connection) (Updated)

Update- I found this short two page article Martyrs Link Louisiana with Spain this in pdf form that gives more details on these Saints

I noticed the new edition of the Catholic Newspaer for the Diocese of Baton Rouge is online.

There is something intersting stuff as usual in it. This though caught my eye. CATHOLICS MARTYRS THAT LIVED IN LITTLE OLE Tangipahoa Parish? Wow. I have never heard of this before. (this is on page 8 of the paper)


Rosaryville monument to be
dedicated to Dominican martyrs

A monument to the Spanish Dominican friars, who were martyred in 1936 and
beatified last October, will be dedicated Sat., Oct. 11 in the Friars’ Cemetery in Rosaryville,
La., to mark the first anniversary of the beatification.

A Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph Church in Ponchatoula at 10 a.m. The formal
blessing of the monument will take place at the Dominican Friars’ Cemetery following
the Mass. The cemetery is on the campus of the Dominican Spirit Life Center, 39003 Rosaryville
Rd., which is west of Ponchatoula. A reception will conclude the dedication.

The provincial of the Southern Dominican Province Very Rev. Martin J. Glesson OP will
preside at the Mass. Very Rev. Bonifacio Solis OP, provincial for the Holy Rosary Province
from Manila, Philippines, will preach the homily. Sister Angeline Magro OP, prioress
of the St. Mary’s Dominican Sisters, will give the welcome for the Mass.

Six Dominican friars, who were martyred in Spain and beatified last October, would seem to have little relevance to the Diocese of Baton Rouge except for the fact that they all had a connection with Rosaryville, when it was a theology
school for the Holy Rosary Province of Dominicans.

The friars were Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, the 78th master general of the order
who had established Rosaryville as a Dominican seminary in 1911; Jesus Villaverde
Andres, the prior of the Rosaryville seminary; and four missionary priests – Antonio
Varona Ortega, Pedro Ibanez, Alonso, Jose Maria Carrilo,and Leoncio Arce Urrutia.

After leaving Rosaryville, these friars became missionaries to the Far East and later returned
to their native Spain. They were victims of the Spanish Civil War which pitted the Leftist Republicans against Franco’s Nationalists. Pope Benedict XVI beatified these friars at St. Peter’s in Rome on Oct. 28, 2007.

Although these Spanish martyrs are not buried at Rosaryville, 16 other Spanish
Dominican friars, who died between 1908 and 1936, are buried in the Friars’ Cemetery.

In addition to establishing Rosaryville as a theology school in 1911, the friars of the Holy Rosary Province assumed the pastoral ministry for all of the Catholic churches in Tangipahoa Civil Parish, and for St. Anthony and St. Dominic churches in New Orleans.Rosaryville Theological
School was established in the same location where the Benedictine monks had previously
located their St. Joseph Abbey. When the Dominican friars left Rosaryville in 1938,
they transferred the property to the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary’s.

I update a link at the top!!! From that aarticle they had so bio stuff on these Saints

Leoncio Arce Urrutla, after his solemn profession in 1917 at Avila, during 1920-1922 was studying theology at Rosaryvilie. In 1923, Archbishop John W. Shaw of New Orleans ordained Fray Leoncio a deacon and on June 10, 1924 Archbishop Shaw ordained him to the presbyterate. After his time in Louisiana, Fray Arce went back to Spain (Valladolid, Avila and Madrid); he was arrested in July of 1936 and was martyred at Porlier in Spain on Sept. 10, 1936.

Antonio Varona Ortega, after his solemn profession on Jan, 18, 1922, went to Rosaryville. He continued his theological studies during 1922-1924 in Washington, DC and received a Master of Arts degree in education at the Catholic University of America. He returned to Rosaryville and was ordained subdeacon in 1924 and priest on June 13, 1926 by Archbishop Shaw. Shortly thereafter he was missioned to the Philippines, but while teaching there he contracted tuberculosis and in 1933 he returned to Avila in Spain. Fray Varona became a martyr at Algodor, Spain on July 25, 1936.

Jose Maria Lopez Carrillo came from Avila to Rosaryville where he was living in 1915 and where he professed his solemn vows. He was ordained a deacon at Rosaryville by Auxiliary Bishop Jean M. Laval in 1918 and was ordained a priest on Jan. 15, 1919. From 1919 until 1935 he lived in the Orient—first at Manila and then at the Fokién mission in China. Because of a serious illness, he returned to Spain; he became a martyr on Aug. 27, 1936 back in Madrid.

Pedro Ibanez Alonso has studied theology at Avila, by 1914 he was at Rosaryville and professed his solemn vows there; in 1916 he traveled to Manila for further studies and was ordained a priest on Apr. 1, 1917. After serving in China and the Philippines he went back to his home in Spain, where he was killed for defending his Catholic faith in Madrid on the same day as Fray Lopez.

The 78th master general of the Dominican friars (from 1926-1929 with residence in Manila), Fray Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, was instrumental in bringing this theology seminary to Louisiana in 1911. At the same time, his Holy Rosary Province assumed the pastoral ministry of all the Catholic parishes in Tangipahoa (where Dominican friars still care for Ponchatoula, Tickfaw and Hammond). Fray Garcia Paredes, at the age of 70, was among the Spaniards martyred on Aug. 12, 1936 in Madrid.