Jesuit martyrs of the Spanish Civil War

 Jesuit martyrs of the Spanish Civil War are numerous Jesuit priests and brothers who were killed for their faith between 1936 and 1939. They are considered martyrs because they were often killed due to anti-religious sentiments, and many were executed in brutal circumstances by Republican forces, often simply for their religious vocation. 

• The "Martyrs of Gandía and Valencia": A group of 11 Jesuits, including Father Tomás Sitjar, were killed between August 19 and December 29, 1936, in Gandía and Valencia. Sitjar was the first to die, and his companions included priests like Father Pablo Bori Puig and Father Juan Bautista Ferreres Boluda, as well as Brothers.
• Other Jesuit martyrs: Many other Jesuits were also killed, and their stories are chronicled on sites like Hagiography Circle and Jesuit Prayer Ministry.
• Context of the violence: The persecution of religious figures was part of a broader wave of anticlerical violence during the war, where revolutionaries targeted churches and clergy with anti-religious sentiment.
• Church recognition: The Catholic Church officially recognized many of these victims as martyrs, with the Vatican beatifying some of them, such as Father Tomás Sitjar and his companions.