Pope Leo XIV has approved new decrees recognizing heroic holiness, martyrdom, and miraculous intercession within the Church, advancing the causes of several men and women whose lives reflected deep faith, sacrifice, and service to Christ.
According to Vatican News, the Holy Father authorized six decrees from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints during a meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the dicastery. The decrees open the way for the beatification of Maronite Patriarch Elias Hoyek of Lebanon and 80 martyrs killed during the Spanish Civil War.
The group of Spanish martyrs came from Santander and died amid the violent anti-Catholic persecution of the 1930s. The martyrs included priests, seminarians, religious, and lay faithful who remained loyal to Christ even under torture and threat of death.
According to Vatican News, many suffered horrific deaths, including prisoners who were “thrown into the sea with their hands and feet bound and stones tied to their bodies,” while others were executed, burned, or died in prison camps.
Among them was Fr. Francisco Gonzáles de Córdova, pastor of Santa María del Puerto parish in Santoña. Despite threats and restrictions against the sacraments, he refused to abandon his people. Even while imprisoned aboard a ship converted into a jail, he continued hearing confessions and leading the Rosary.
Before his execution, Vatican News reports that Fr. Francisco “asked to be shot last so he could absolve and bless his companions.” He died at age 48.
The Pope also approved the miracle needed for the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek, a major figure in Lebanese Catholic history who is widely remembered as a spiritual and national leader.
Born in 1843 in Helta, Lebanon, Hoyek entered the seminary as a teenager and was ordained a priest in Rome in 1870. According to Vatican News, he later co-founded the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family alongside Mother Rosalie Nasr.
As Maronite Patriarch of Antioch beginning in 1899, Hoyek became known for defending the Lebanese people during times of war, famine, and political turmoil. During World War I, he opened monasteries and convents to care for the hungry and displaced “regardless of religion,” according to Vatican News.
The Vatican also recognized a miracle attributed to his intercession involving the healing of Lebanese army officer Nayef Abou Assi in 1965 after he reportedly dreamed of the patriarch.
In addition to the future blesseds, Pope Leo XIV recognized four new venerables whose lives demonstrated heroic virtue.
One of them was Br. Jean-Thierry of the Child Jesus and the Passion, a young Discalced Carmelite from Cameroon who died of bone cancer in 2006 at just 23 years old. According to Vatican News, after realizing he would likely not recover, he offered his suffering “for vocations.”
On the day of his solemn profession, as he neared death, his final reported words were: “So much light, so much light… How beautiful Jesus is!”
Also declared venerable was Mother María Ana Alberdi Echezarreta, a Spanish Conceptionist Franciscan remembered for guiding her religious community through the hardships following the Spanish Civil War and the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Vatican News said she dedicated her life to “becoming holy through love.”
Another new venerable, Salesian missionary Fr. Costantino Vendrame, spent decades serving the poor in India. Known for traveling long distances on foot and living simply among the people, he continued encouraging fellow prisoners spiritually even after being imprisoned during World War II.
Finally, Pope Leo XIV recognized the heroic virtues of Capuchin lay brother Fra Nazareno da Pula, affectionately called “the saint with the sweets.” According to Vatican News, he became known for handing out orange and lemon candies while encouraging people to pray a Hail Mary.
These new decrees highlight the universal witness of holiness across cultures and generations — from martyrs who died defending the faith, to missionaries, contemplatives, and humble servants who lived lives of charity, prayer, and sacrifice for Christ.
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