At Guadalajara in Spain, blessed María Pilar of Saint Francis Borgia (Jacoba) Martínez García, Teresa of the Child Jesus (Eusebia) García García, and María Ángeles of Saint Joseph (Marciana) Valtierra Tordesillas, virgins of the Order of Discalced Carmelites and martyrs, who, rejoicing and acclaiming Christ their Spouse, were crowned with martyrdom in a time of persecution.
Lifespan: d. 1936
Beatified: 29 March 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Memoria liturgica: 24 July
“The true religious . . . must not turn his back on the desire to die for the faith and to undergo martyrdom.”
Shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the community of Discalced Carmelite nuns of the monastery of Saint Joseph in Guadalajara dispersed, and its members, dressed in civilian clothing, were forced to seek refuge elsewhere.
On 24 July 1936, three of the sisters — Sister María Pilar of Saint Francis Borgia, born Jacoba Martínez García (1877–1936); Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus and of Saint John of the Cross, born Eusebia García y García (1909–1936); and Sister María Ángeles of Saint Joseph, born Marciana Valtierra Tordesillas (1905–1936) — were surprised by a group of militiamen, who opened fire on them as they left the building where they had taken shelter. The first died on the spot, and the second in hospital; the third, having at first escaped the gunfire, was shot near the city cemetery.
These three nuns were the first martyrs killed during the Spanish Civil War to be beatified: the ceremony took place on 29 March 1987 in the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome.