THOMASIAN MARTYRS OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

BLESSED JESUS VILLAVERDE ANDRÉS, O.P. (1877 – 1936)

Born in San Miguel de Dueñas (León), diocese of Astorga, on October 4, 1877 and was baptized on 12th

of the same month. Being a son of a military captain, they were constantly moving. He first studied at the

Jesuit college of Salamanca and later in the diocesan seminary in Madrid. His decision to enter the

Dominican Order brought him to Ocaña where he made his profession on June 4, 1895. He was ordained

to the priesthood in Avila on June 26, 1903. His priestly life was marked by a continuous movement and

activity as a teacher and later as superior. He taught at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila from

1905-1910; he was assigned to the convent of Valencia before it was ceded to the restored Dominican

Province of Aragon. He then again returned to the Philippines in 1916, where he taught theology and served

as Dean at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and later as Rector of the Colegio de San Juan de

Letran (1924-1927). He also became Prior of the Convents of Rosaryville in New Orleans, USA (1921-

1924) and Sto. Tomas de Avila in Avila, Spain (1934). In July of 1936, assaults were made to various

religious houses and among them was the Convent of the Holy Rosary in Madrid where he was part of. He

took refuge with relatives nearby, where he prayed much, consoled the family and gave them confidence

in God. At the time of the arrest near midnight on October 15, 1936, confessed that he was religious and

was willing to die for Christ and was executed the next day, October 16. He was fifty-nine years of age. He

was among the group of 498 martyrs of Spanish Civil War that were beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in a

Holy Mass presided over by the prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, Cardinal José Saraiva

Martins on October 28, 2007.

Reference: Lay Dominican - St. John the Baptist Chapter (2013), October 5, 2013

https://www.facebook.com/813428415348105/posts/november-6-is-the-feast-day-of-blessed-jesus-

villaverde-andres-op-and-blessed-an/1066023710088573/
2 Beatitudes Lived:

 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of
God.” - Blessed Jesus Villaverde Andres voluntarily showed up and handled himself over to the
arresting officers in order to save his brother Carlos. He was brought to the place of torture and
executed. He was willing to die for Christ just like he did for all of us.

 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”
- Jesus Villaverde Andres went back to Spain to serve as prior of the Santo Tomas Covent in
Avilla and later on was assigned to Madrid. While in Madrid, his convent was attacked by the
communists. Fr. Villaverde had to hide in his Mother’s house but later on his brother, Carlos took
custody of him. Fr. Villaverde he did nothing but pray and console his family. He doesn’t focus
on revenge but through prayers.

How are you going to follow this Martyr as an AB Student?

As an AB Student, I will strengthen my Faith to God and I will sacrifice myself in order to help the poor

and who are those in hungers and thirsts, by sharing what I have and donating to the organizations who

help those in poverty. With my whole heart I'll pray to God for he shall forgive me and blessed myself in

order to help those people who are experiencing hardship in that way I can give back the good things that

God gave me blessings. I admire the Martyr because he has that kind-hearted characteristic because even

the people attack him and hate him, all he does is just pray and talk to God and keeps his faith strong.

Like in our modern days we always encountering the hate, bullying, attacking and other bad things

happen but some people forget to pray and just focusing too much on revenge and I believe that people

can change and be a better person to our world.