226 Spaniards Nearer to Beatification

This will be the most numerous group of Valencian martyrs to be recognized as blessed or saints by the Church.

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - The Holy See has moved forward the beatification cause for some 250 Spaniards who died in Valencia or other parts of Spain during the 1934-1939 religious persecution.

According to the Archdiocese of Valencia, the Vatican has given the perceptive "nihil obstat" to the cause.

This will be the most numerous group of Valencian martyrs to be recognized as blessed or saints by the Church. In 2001, Pope John Paul II beatified 226 other Valencian martyrs.

The new cause -- which was opened by Archbishop Agustín García-Gasco of Valencia in June of 2004 -- includes 183 priests, six men religious, four women religious and 57 lay faithful.

A 15-year old altar server is part of the group. He was tortured and killed for trying to defend sacred images. Another member of the group is a woman who was about to give birth and asked her executioners to allow her child to be born so that she could baptize him. Her request was refused.

The decree was signed by the prefect and secretary of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins and Monsignor Michael Di Ruberto.