Carlos de Dios Murias | |
|---|---|
| Martyr | |
 Murias presiding over a baptism. | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | La Rioja |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 17 December 1972 by Enrique Angelelli |
| Rank | Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carlos de Dios Murias 10 October 1945 |
| Died | 18 July 1976 (aged 30) Chamical, La Rioja, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentinian |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 17 July |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 27 April 2019 La Rioja, Argentina by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu |
Gabriel Longueville | |
|---|---|
 Fr. Longueville in Argentina. | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | La Rioja |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 29 June 1957 by Alfred Couderc |
| Rank | Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gabriel Longueville 18 March 1931 |
| Died | 18 July 1976 (aged 45) Chamical, La Rioja, Argentina |
| Nationality | French |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 17 July |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 27 April 2019 La Rioja, Argentina by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu |
Wenceslao Pedernera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Martyr | |
| Born | 28 September 1936 Los Jagüeles, La Calera, San Luis, Argentina |
| Died | 25 July 1976 (aged 39) Sañogasta, Chilecito, La Rioja, Argentina |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 27 April 2019, La Rioja, Argentina by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu |
| Feast | 17 July |
Carlos de Dios Murias, OFM Conv. (10 October 1945 – 18 July 1976) and his two companions Gabriel Longueville (18 March 1931 – 18 July 1976) and Wenceslao Pedernera (28 September 1936 – 25 July 1976) were two priests and a married man who were killed in the La Rioja province in Argentina. Enrique Angelelli was the Bishop of La Rioja, murdered on August 4, 1976 while returning from celebrating a Mass for the murdered priests.[1]
Murias was a professed member from the Order of Friars Minor Conventual and Longueville was a priest incardinated in the Viviers diocese in France before moving to Argentina where he was incardinated into the La Rioja diocese. The two worked together in a La Rioja parish before their deaths while Pedernera, who served as a lay catechist,[2] was married with three daughters and was slain in front of them.[3][4][5]
Murias studied civil engineering before he became a Franciscan and following his 1972 ordination began to do pastoral work in Buenos Aires before transferring to La Rioja in 1975 to collaborate with his friend and mentor Bishop Enrique Angelelli. It was in La Rioja that he and Gabriel Longueville began working together in the same parish after Longueville was sent to Argentina in 1969 from Viviers. The pair were captured one evening and found dead after having been tortured and mutilated. Wenceslao Pedernera married in 1962 and moved with his wife and three daughters to La Rioja in mid-1973 while he also helped manage an organization dedicated to social activism. He was shot 20 times in front of his wife and daughters around a week following the murders of Murias and Longueville.[6]
The beatification for the three men was initiated in 2010 and in 2011 received the critical support of Jorge Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires who became Pope Francis in 2013. The three later became Venerables. Pope Francis confirmed their beatification on 8 June 2018. Their beatification, as well the beatification of Angelelli, was celebrated at La Rioja City Park in La Rioja on 27 April 2019.[2]
- ^ "The martyrs of La Rioja beatified", Agenzia Fides, 29 April 2019
- ^ a b "Beatification of four modern martyrs to the faith in Argentina - Vatican News". 27 April 2019.
- ^ Day, Michael (19 March 2013). "Young Franciscan friar killed by the military during Argentina's Dirty War could become first beatified person under Pope Francis' reign". The Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ Larraqy, Marcelo (20 March 2013). "The priest who Pope Francis wants to beatify". Clarín. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Argentinean dictatorship victim could be first figure to be beatified by Pope Francis". La Stampa. 19 March 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ Merolla, Daniel (20 March 2013). "Pope backed canonization process for slain priests". ABS-CBN News. Agence France-Press. Retrieved 12 May 2018.