Leo XIV Honors Santander Martyrs Before Beatification
He praised a Guatemalan Franciscan martyr and connected *Gaudium et Spes* to peace, work, and the dignity of the poor.
At his general audience on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV recalled the eighty martyrs to be beatified this Saturday in Santander, Spain: diocesan priest Francesco González de Córdova and seventy-nine companions—priests, seminarians, and lay faithful—who “did not fear to shed their blood for love of Christ during the Spanish persecution of the last century.”
He said these new blesseds “show us one more part of the ‘immense multitude’ of the Lord’s friends.” The same Saturday, Franciscan Friar Minor Augusto Rafael Ramírez Monasterio, killed “out of hatred for the faith” in 1983, is to be beatified in Antigua, Guatemala.
Catechesis on *Gaudium et Spes*
The Pope’s catechesis continued his months-long reflection on the social teaching of *Gaudium et Spes*. He noted that the Council’s warning about the threat to world peace posed by unequal economic development that does not respect creation is “confirmed” today. Calls to end discrimination against the weakest social groups and against migrants are, he added, “more current than ever.”
On work, he insisted it “can never be distorted to the detriment of people, the common good or creation.” Unemployment, exploitation, and working conditions that endanger health and life remain unacceptable. Workers have “the right and the duty” to take part in decisions affecting their work, resolving conflicts through dialogue and nonviolent action.
Witnesses of Peace and a Forthcoming Journey
Greeting Polish and Hungarian pilgrims, Leo XIV recalled Cardinals Stefan Wyszyński and József Mindszenty, both imprisoned for the faith. He affirmed that “peace is built on justice, respect for the law and dialogue, and not on violence.”
He also announced that on Friday he will travel to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, asking the faithful to pray that the journey “strengthen faith, renew hope, rekindle the fire of charity.”
The martyrs of Santander and the Guatemalan Franciscan stand as living signs that fidelity to Christ can cost everything—and that their blood still waters the Church’s hope for a just and peaceful world.