SAVANNAH, Ga. — Five Spanish Franciscan friars who died on the Georgia coast more than four centuries ago are now formally called Blessed after a beatification Mass held Saturday at the Savannah Convention Center.
The ceremony drew thousands of Catholics to Hutchinson Island and marked a first for Georgia and for the American South. Only six beatifications have ever taken place on U.S. soil. Beatification is the last formal step before sainthood in the Catholic Church.
The group known as the Georgia Martyrs is made up of Blas Rodríguez, Antonio de Badajóz, Miguel de Añon, Francisco de Veráscola and their leader, Pedro de Corpa. Pope Francis approved the decree recognizing them as martyrs in January 2025, which cleared the way for Saturday’s rite.
Cardinal Frank Leo, Archbishop of Toronto, led the liturgy as papal legate on behalf of Pope Leo XIV. In his homily he tied the occasion to two anniversaries: 250 years since the Declaration of Independence and 800 years since the death of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the friars’ order.
The missionaries served the Guale people in villages stretching from St. Catherines Island to the area that is now Darien. Diocesan history says the two groups lived in peace for about two years before the 1597 uprising. It began after Friar Pedro de Corpa refused to allow Juanillo, a baptized Guale heir, to take a second wife. The violence then spread to the other missions. One friar, Francisco de Avila, was held captive and survived until the governor of St. Augustine won his release.
Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of the Diocese of Savannah called the day a milestone for the diocese and for Catholics across Georgia. He said the friars died defending the church’s teaching on marriage and that he hopes their example strengthens families. Darien’s Nativity of Our Lady Church already honors the five with a monument.
