Venue selected for beatification of Georgia Martyrs

The beatification Mass will be said at the Savannah Convention Center at 11 a.m. on Oct. 31. No ticket is needed, but organizers said registration is required.

The beatification of the 16th-century Franciscan missionaries known as the “Georgia Martyrs” will be held at the convention center in Savannah, Georgia, on Oct. 31.

The Order of Friars Minor announced the venue in a Sept. 26 statement. About 12,000 people are expected to attend the event.

The beatification Mass is set for 11 a.m., and no ticket is necessary, organizers said. Registration is required by Sept. 30.

Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of Savannah said the beatification will be “a date of great significance for the faithful within the Diocese of Savannah and the Archdiocese of Atlanta.”

Cardinal Frank Leo, metropolitan archbishop of Toronto, will serve as papal legate and preside over the beatification liturgy on All Hallows Eve. The beatification will be livestreamed on EWTN.

A Mass of Thanksgiving is set for 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 1 at Savannah’s Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

Who are the Georgia Martyrs?

In September 1597, Father Pedro de Corpa, Father Blas Rodríguez, Father Miguel de Añon, Brother Antonio de Badajóz, and Father Francisco de Veráscola were killed for defending the sanctity of marriage. They died in the region called La Florida, which included present-day Georgia.

The U.S. bishops petitioned Pope Pius XII to beatify the missionaries in 1941, and the cause officially began in the Diocese of Savannah in 1981. In January 2025, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of a decree recognizing the five Franciscans as martyrs for Christ who were killed for their faith after ministering among the Guale people.

The late Father Dominic Monti, OFM, a historian and vice postulator for the cause, said in a statement: “These were not ‘missions’ like those that were established later in California, where native people were gathered together under friar supervision. The Guale were already living in towns; the friars were welcomed into these villages by local chiefs and lived among the people. This model of evangelization resembled more contemporary methods.”

The friars learned the Guale language and lived peacefully among the people without Spanish soldiers. Monti said archaeological evidence shows “a blending of native and Christian motifs, showing that the Christian faith was thoroughly accepted by the native people.”

In 1597, Juanillo, the young heir to a Guale chiefdom, wanted to take a second wife. Friar Pedro de Corpa opposed the second marriage. He also made his opposition to Juanillo’s succession as chief known.

Juanillo, together with a band of like-minded allies, resorted to violence and killed Pedro de Corpa, OFM, on Sept. 14, 1597. The group then proceeded to other local missions, killing four other friars in the area.

A local chief urged Father Miguel de Añon and Brother Antonio de Badajóz to flee, but the unarmed friars disregarded the warning. A sixth friar, Francisco de Avila, was kidnapped and tortured until he was liberated months later, according to the order.

Father Roger Lopez, OFM, is a provincial councilor for the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, part of the Order of Friars Minor, which has worked with the Diocese of Savannah to promote the Georgia Martyrs’ cause for canonization since the mid-20th century.

Lopez said: “The beatification of our brothers, Pedro de Corpa and Companions, stands as a profound message to the Church in America — that the love of Christ Jesus is more powerful than hatred. In every age, the use of force and violence are the weapons used by leaders to silence the Gospel of truth and peace. Such was the result for our friars four centuries ago in the present state of Georgia.”

Lopez said the Georgia Martyrs “invite all people of America to lay aside weapons of death and division. Their blood calls us to recommit to Jesus Christ’s Gospel of peaceful dialogue, mutual respect, and forgiveness in our families, country, and world.”