Thousands of Catholics travel from afar as Georgia Martyrs beatified
SAVANNAH — St. Lawrence Seminary High School in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, is more than 1,100 miles from Savannah, but attending the beatification of the Georgia Martyrs was a must for Friar Peter Kafumu, the vice rector of the Catholic boys’ boarding school.
“We came down with a group of six boys from the seminary and our musical director,” Kafumu said. “These boys are discerning for the priesthood, and we thought, if we give them the chance and opportunity to see what is happening today, it will add value to their discernment process.”
The Georgia Martyrs were five Spanish Franciscan friars who introduced Christianity to the Guale people along what is today Georgia’s coast. All five missionaries were killed in 1597 after opposing a baptized Guale leader taking a second wife, an act that violated Catholic teachings on marriage.
More than 12,000 people attended Saturday’s Mass and beatification ceremony at the Savannah Convention Center. Beatification is a key step toward potential sainthood for the Catholic Church and denotes those honored with the title “Blessed.”
“This matters because our school is run by Franciscans, so these were our brothers who were martyred,” Kafumu said. “We felt it was really important to come and celebrate with them today as they are venerated.”
The work toward beatification for the Georgia martyrs picked up speed in 2007 after the Diocese of Savannah filed a formal cause with the Vatican.
It is the first beatification held in Georgia and the sixth such ceremony in the United States. The last was Sept. 24, when the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen, a pioneer in television evangelization, was venerated at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.
The Guale tribe spanned dozens of villages along the coast when the Spanish arrived. The Indigenous tribe eventually was driven from its lands by English pirates and rival Native Americans backed by the British between 1660 and 1684. Many of those who survived settled elsewhere along the coast and were absorbed by the Muscogee (Creek) tribe.
Saturday’s Catholic ceremony in Savannah was presided over by Cardinal Frank Leo, the Archbishop of Toronto. Savannah Bishop Stephen Parkes and Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer were among several concelebrants.
It took Erin and Chris Lewis and their three daughters nearly seven hours to drive from their home in Rome to the Savannah event. They also made the trip to the Sheen beatification ceremony last month.
“I’ve always been into Georgia history,” Erin Lewis said. “This connects to my faith because I’ve lived as a Catholic all my life. We don’t really hear a lot about Catholics when we hear about Georgia history and the fact that these Spanish Franciscans were here before the Pilgrims, before Jamestown, before all the British settlers, before this was a country, shows the deep roots of Catholicism in our state.”
History helps explain why Zachary Young, who is in the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, considers himself both a Jew and a Catholic. Born Jewish, he also converted to Catholicism about a dozen years ago.
“(I am) just like how the apostles were — Jewish — but did not cease to be Jewish,” Young said. “When St. Paul gives his speech, he says, ‘I am a Jew,” Not ‘I was a Jew.’ Why shouldn’t that be? This is a rare occasion to see these beatifications happen on American soil. It’s a great day for the American church.”
The Georgia Martyrs
Friar Pedro de Corpa
The most senior of the missionaries, he served the village of Tolomato, home to the Guale chief. He forbade the chief’s heir, a baptized Guale named Juanillo, from taking a second wife and was the first friar killed in the uprising.
Friar Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos
He was preparing to celebrate Mass when his executioners arrived at his village, Tupiqui. He was allowed to conduct the service, after which his chapel was destroyed and he was killed, two days after de Corpa was slain.
Friar Miguel de Añon
One of two missionaries killed at Santa Catalina de Guale on modern-day St. Catherines Island, he is said to have been a talented singer. His executioners burned the church and the friar’s dwelling after his killing, three days after de Corpa was killed.
Friar Antonio de Badajoz
The only of the five martyrs not ordained as a priest, Badajoz spent a decade with the Guale before his death and spoke the tribe’s language fluently. He was assigned to Santa Catalina as Friar Miguel de Añon’s interpreter and died alongside him.
Friar Francisco de Veráscola
The last of the friars killed, he was attacked on his return to the village of Talaje near modern-day Darien from a supply run to the Spanish colonial capital of St. Augustine. Large and athletic, he was known to engage Guale warriors in wrestling contests.