September 17: The Georgia Martyrs

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is September 17th, and our story is The Georgia Martyrs. In the 16th century, long before the definition of marriage as the permanent union of one man and one woman came under attack in the United States, five Franciscan friars gave their lives defending that truth in the New World. The friars were missionaries, living along the coast of present-day Georgia.

They came from Spain, arriving first in St. Augustine, and then striking out on their own sometime after 1587, with no soldiers accompanying them. At first, they needed no soldiers. Many of the Guale to whom they preached eagerly embraced the gospel, but others balked when it came to the church's teachings on marriage. The Gwale practiced polygamy, and the friars' demand that men live in a permanent marriage with only one wife seemed unreasonable to them. The friars refused to baptize those Gwale, accepting only converts who promised to embrace the Catholic understanding of marriage.

In 1597, a convert named Juanillo broke that promise. Father Pedro de Corpa, the friar in charge of the mission where Juanillo lived, called him to repent. Instead, on September 14th, Juanillo and a Guale war party broke into de Corpa's cabin and severed the priest's head with the macana, the Guale tomahawk. The war party then proceeded to the next mission along the coast.

There, they took Father Blas de Rodriguez captive, and two days later, they clubbed him to death. The next day, September 17, 1597, Juanilo and his companions landed on St. Catherine's Island. Before they arrived, they sent a message to the island's chief and ordered him to kill Father Miguel de Añan and Brother Antonio de Barajas, the two Franciscans stationed there. Instead, the chief begged the Franciscans to flee. They refused and died that day. One more Franciscan, Fr. Francisco de Verascola, was martyred later that month when he returned to St.

Simon's Island from St. Augustine. Although reports from the martyr's contemporaries testify to the graces and conversions that followed the massacre, their cause for beatification didn't move forward until 1984. It remains open still. The Georgia martyrs remind us that faith is not passive. It requires conviction, moral courage, and sometimes enduring persecution for the sake of righteousness.

Consider a moment this week when you can stand for what is right or speak the truth, even if it feels uncomfortable or risky. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, September 18th, for another story of faith and courage in America.