Inocencio of Mary Immaculate (March 10, 1887–October 9, 1934), born Manuel Canoura Arnau, was a priest and member of the

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

Congregation and was killed during the Asturias revolt. He and his companions are known collectively as the

Martyrs of Turon The martyrs of Turon were a group of eight members of the Catholic, religious-teaching congregation Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as ''De La Salle'' Brothers, and one Passionist priest who were executed by insurre ...

. He was canonised by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1999.

Life

He was born on March 10, 1887, at Santa Cilla do Valadouro ( Foz), near the Cantabrian coast in the

province of Lugo Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in th ...

(Galicia) and joined the

seminary at the age of 14 at Peñafiel, near Valladolid. Mercurio, R: "The Passionists", page 176. The Liturgical Press, 1991 He joined the Passionist Congregation at

Deusto Deusto, also known as Deustu in Basque and formerly known as ''San Pedro de Deusto'', is one of the eight districts of Bilbao, (Spain). It is located on the right side of the Bilbao estuary, in the northwestern part of the city and bordering t ...

( Biscay) and then continued his philosophy and theology. At Mieres, not far from Turón, he was given the sub-diaconate in 1910, the diaconate in 1912 and was ordained priest in 1920.Mercurio, R: "The Passionists", page 37. The Liturgical Press, 1991 As a priest he preached missions and also taught in various schools. Whilst he was in Mieres he had been asked by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle) to hear the confessions of the children on their school as they prepared for their First Communion. This was at the time of the Asturias revolt, when communists and anti-clericalists had risen up against the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

Martyrdom

On Friday October 5, 1934, a group of strikers forced their way into the Lasallian school in Turón, where Father Inocencio was exercising his priestly ministry. He was imprisoned alongside the eight Brothers in the so-called "House of the People" to await the judgment of the Republican committee. They were condemned to death and, in the early hours of October 9, 1934, were executed by a firing squad. Their bodies were buried in a common grave. Inocencio is regarded by the Catholic church as one of the Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. Although his death occurred some two years prior to the outbreak of the war, his death was part of the same violence and anti-clerical feeling of that period in Spain's history.

Canonization

Inocencio and his eight fellow martyrs were declared venerable in 1989, beatified on April 19, 1990, then canonized on November 21, 1999, by Pope John Paul II.

External links

Vatican Biography of Father Innocencio and his companions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Immaculate, Innocencio Of Mary 1887 births 1934 deaths Passionists Spanish Roman Catholic saints Martyred Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Christian saints 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Executed Spanish people Beatifications by Pope John Paul II

Life

Martyrdom

Canonization

External links

See also

References