Sunday, November 5th, 2023 – Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A Readings: Malachi 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10, Psalm 131 “In you, Lord, I have found my peace”, 1 Thessalonians 2:7b-9, 13, Matthew 23:1-12

                                              The Martyrs of la Florida
     “Nevertheless, our labor has not been in vain. A large part of the work has been done, especially the foundation built, and time, I am sure, will bring the glory we seek. If the result doesn’t come while we are still on earth, there may be an added joy and interest in watching the mortals work out an answer to the problem from the blissful skies above.” — Bishop John Mark Gannon, in a Christmas card in 1941, shortly after he had submitted to Rome materials for the beatification of the Martyrs of the United States.
     In recent years the Committee for the Cause of the Beatification of the Martyrs of La Florida has been working to fulfill Bishop Gannon’s prophecy. A significant step was taken on October 12, 2015, when Bishop Gregory L. Parkes formally opened the beatification cause at an outdoor Mass in Tallahassee.
      Since that time, members of the Historical Commission have been extensively reseing numerous individuals from the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries who are reported to have died for the faith within the land that was once known as La Florida. These investigations have taken members of the Historical Commission to archives in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Louisiana, as well as Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and Rome. In keeping with the Church’s prudent requirements, the Historical Commission has rigorously examined each and every report of martyrdom in order to assess its accuracy and credibility. Of the many accounts of martyrdom that have been studied, several have been determined to be reliable enough to submit to the scrutiny of the Church, while others that are not as well attested have been deemed to require further study and verification.
      On February 14, 2022 Bishop William A. Wack of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee submitted to Rome a list of those individuals for whom credible evidence of martyrdom exists. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has received this list, and we are awaiting further direction from them. The individuals on this list are: 1)Fr. Diego de Tolosa, O.P. (early June, 1549)
2) Br. Fuentes, O.P. (early June, 1549) 3) Fr. Luis de Cáncer, O.P. (June 26, 1549) Fr. Cáncer, a native of Barbastro, in the Kingdom of Aragón, joined the Dominican order and spent many years ministering in the Caribbean and Central America. Having heard reports of unsuccessful Spanish missions to Florida and having encountered native Floridians who had been dispossessed as a result of Spanish activity there, Fr. Cáncer and his fellow Dominican Fr. Gregorio de Beteta resolved to “plant the Gospel in the land of Florida.”
     In the late spring of 1549 Fr. Cáncer and Fr. Beteta left Veracruz on the Santa María de la Encina bound for Havana and then Florida. With them were the Dominican priests Juan Garcia and Diego de Tolosa and a lay brother named Fuentes. Once in Havana the missionaries received further supplies, and they were also joined by a Christian Indian named Magdalena (or Madalena) who was to serve as their translator. Magdalena, a member of the Tocobaga tribe, had been captured by the Spanish in 1539 during the Soto expedition. On the Vigil of the Ascension (Wednesday, May 5, 1549).
We will continue next week.                                                                 
Source: Martyrs - Martyrs of La Florida Missions - Tallahassee, FL