Five Spanish Franciscan friars to be beatified in Savannah on October 31

Five Spanish Franciscan friars are scheduled for beatification on October 31 in Savannah, Georgia. The group includes priests Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón, and Francisco de Veráscola, and lay brother Antonio de Badajoz.

A 1612 letter from Capuchin friars in Florida states these five men were killed in the Province of Guale. The letter explains they were killed because they did not permit married people to have more than one spouse.

The Guale people lived in about 40 towns in the southeastern United States during the era of the missionaries. The friars reported that many Guale embraced the faith and received European products.