Bishop Vicent Ribas presides over thanksgiving Mass

Bishop Vicent Ribas presided over a thanksgiving Mass at the Ibiza Cathedral on Sunday to honor the beatification of 20 martyred priests from the diocese. The beatification ceremony took place the previous day and was led by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Leo XIV.

Bishop Ribas was joined by Archbishop Aurelio García Macías, Secretary of the Dicastery, as well as emeritus bishops Javier Salinas and Jesús Murgui. The bishop noted that the 20 priests, including Juan Torres Torres, were killed between August 7 and September 13, 1936.

In his homily, Bishop Ribas stated that while the priests would have paid legitimate taxes to secular authorities, they refused to surrender their souls, consciences, freedoms, and faith. He described the group as ordinary village priests whose example provides strength to the community.