At our last meeting, I spoke about the five 'Tucson Martyrs' , three of whom were beatified along with more than 500 other Spanish martyrs who died for the faith during the Revolution in Spain on October 23, 2013 by Pope Francis. These martyrs are now being honored in a special way in our California-Arizona Western Province where they served and began the early Carmelite missionary churches of the Southwest. You can check out more in-depth biographies on these courageous souls at Fr. Jose Luis Ferroni, ocd's blog located at http://tucsonpriests.blogspot.com/ which was the official website of the beatification.
You might also be amazed to discover that 16 Discalced Carmelite friars were also martyred at Toledo during the same time period in Spain and were beatified at the same time and are commemorated on the same day of November 6th by the Church. [See http://newsaints.faithweb.com/martyrs/MSPC12.htm)
In a dramatic fashion, an article describes how the personal papers of St. John of the Cross were saved during the raids in Toledo. With the Spanish Revolutionary guard coming and setting fire to all religious houses in an attempt to destroy all religious artifacts, the Carmelite friars feared what would happen to their library and archives. They sought to hide themselves along with the personal papers of St. John of the Cross. They did so by seeking shelter in the home of a British poet, Roy Campbell, and his family. They brought with them a trunk filled with the writings of St. John of the Cross. Incredibly, the soldiers did not check to see what was in the trunk when they searched the house. Campbell attributed this to St. John's direct intercession whom he was praying to the entire time, and as a result fulfilled his promise to the saint that if his papers [and family] were spared, that he would translate the works of St. John's poetry into English. To read more on this inspirational and amazing story, check out the article, "The Man Who Saved the Original Papers of St. John of the Cross by JOSEPH PEARCE" at: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/catholic_stories/cs0557.htm
