Juan Aguilar Donis and 5 companions

Each member of this group of martyrs testifies to a deep commitment to the service of the Gospel through various roles within the Dominican family:

- Juan Aguilar Donis (priest): Born on June 1, 1886, in Amusco de Campos (Palencia), he entered the apostolic school of Zafra at the age of 14. He made his vows in 1902 and was ordained a priest in 1913. Assigned successively to Jerez de la Frontera, Almagro, and then Almería, he distinguished himself by his gentle character and artistic talents, teaching music and painting to the young brothers. - Tomás Morales Morales (priest): Born on July 12, 1907, in Carrizal de Ingenio (Las Palmas, Canary Islands), he was ordained a priest in 1931. From 1933, he taught Greek and Hebrew at the convent of Almería and fervently led Catholic Action groups. - Fernando Grund Jiménez (priest): Born on February 14, 1907, in Málaga, he was ordained a priest in 1931. Sent to Almería, he dedicated his ministry to preaching and the spiritual accompaniment of the working populations and the working classes. - Fernando de Pablos Fernández (cooperator brother): Born on April 6, 1876, in Valcuende (León), he first worked as a public school teacher before feeling the religious call. He chose to enter the Order as a cooperator brother (lay) and made his vows in Almagro in 1904. He was assigned as a sacristan in Almería. - Ceferino Fernández Martínez (Luis María) (cooperator brother): Born on August 26, 1886, in Villanueva de la Nía (Santander), he made his religious profession in 1908 in Almagro. He went as a missionary to Cuba and then to Mexico, where he courageously faced the Cristero persecution under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles. He joined the convent of Almería in 1934. - Fructuoso Pérez Márquez (Dominican layperson): Born on February 9, 1884, in Almería, he studied briefly at the seminary before having to work to support his family. Married in 1911 and a father of four children, he became a renowned journalist and publisher, directing the Catholic newspaper La Independencia. Received into the Dominican Third Order in 1927, he was appointed sub-prior of the lay fraternity in January 1936. He is particularly known for visiting and providing material and spiritual aid to the poor in the marginalized neighborhoods of Almería.

Persecution broke out in Almería at the very beginning of the Civil War. After the forced closure of the convent, the destinies of the six martyrs crossed in suffering and the testimony of faith:

- Fructuoso Pérez Márquez was arrested at his home on July 26, 1936. He was shot on August 15, 1936, on the beach of La Garrofa, near Almería, and his body was thrown into a mass grave. - Tomás Morales Morales and Fernando Grund Jiménez fled together on July 21, 1936. Arrested on July 23, they were incarcerated in the provincial prison and then transferred on August 10 to the prison ship Astoy-Mendi. During the night of August 30 to 31, 1936, they were taken to the Pozo de La Lagarta (Tabernas) and shot alongside the martyr bishops Diego Ventaja (Almería) and Manuel Medina (Guadix). - Juan Aguilar Donis found refuge with a benefactor but was arrested on August 26, 1936. Severely tortured at the Almería police station, he was taken during the night of September 2 to 3, 1936, to the Pozo de La Lagarta (Tabernas) where he was executed. - Fernando de Pablos Fernández took refuge in a hotel before being arrested on July 27, 1936. Detained at the Adoratrices convent and then on the Astoy-Mendi, he was shot at the gates of the Almería cemetery during the night of September 10 to 11, 1936 (some sources mention September 26 at the Cantavieja well in Tahal). - Ceferino Fernández Martínez was the one who courageously kept the church doors open at the beginning of the unrest. Arrested on July 27, 1936, he suffered detention at the Adoratrices and then on the Astoy-Mendi before being shot at the gates of the Almería cemetery on October 19, 1936.

The cause for the beatification of Juan Aguilar Donis and his companion martyrs of Almería followed a long canonical process:

- April 23, 1962: Opening of the diocesan informative process in Almería, closed in 1971. - 1995: Reopening of the diocesan inquiry, validated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on December 3, 1999. - December 11, 2019: Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree officially recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei. - June 18, 2022: Solemn celebration of the beatification in the Cathedral of Seville (Spain). The ceremony was presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, on behalf of Pope Francis.

The spirituality of this group is based on the Dominican ideal of contemplation and the transmission of truth (Contemplari et contemplata aliis tradere), lived out to the supreme gift of blood. Faced with hatred and violence, they manifested a profound serenity, explicitly forgiving their executioners and uniting their sacrifice with that of Christ.

Their legacy is marked by the diversity of their states of life: the complementarity between the priestly ministry (Aguilar, Morales, Grund), the humble and laborious service of the cooperator brothers (de Pablos, Fernández), and the commitment of a married layman and father in the world of media and social charity (Pérez Márquez). Fructuoso Pérez Márquez is, moreover, recognized as the first Spanish newspaper editor beatified as a martyr, offering a contemporary model for Christian communication professionals.

The identified remains of several of these martyrs rest today in the Dominican crypt at the Almería cemetery or in Seville.