{"id":3761,"date":"2026-07-10T08:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T08:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/unknown-letters-from-a-martyr-family-in-italian\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T08:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T08:58:14","slug":"unknown-letters-from-a-martyr-family-in-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/unknown-letters-from-a-martyr-family-in-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"“Unknown Letters from a Martyr Family” in Italian"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Salvador David, author of the book, during its presentation in Madrid<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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New translation to Italian<\/h4>\n\n
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In anticipation of the upcoming Italian translation of the book *Cartas desconocidas de una familia m\u00e1rtir* (Unknown Letters of a Martyr Family), the current Apostolic Nuncio to Peru, Msgr. Paolo Rocco Gualtieri, has written a beautiful introduction. In it, he places the contribution of these martyrs within the context of the witness of faith borne by the martyrs in Spain. Given its significance, this introduction will be included in the second edition of the book in Spanish.<\/p>\n\n

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So close, yet so far away. It happened not far from our borders. Less than a century ago\u2014not even that long ago.

In Italy, we proudly show the world the blood of the martyrs\u2014models of faithfulness to Jesus, even to the point of laying down one\u2019s life for Him; a total “Christification.” Saints Peter and Paul were followed by the first generation of Christian martyrs, whose solemnity is celebrated today in the liturgy of the entire Church. It might seem like a story of faith that has ended\u2014concluded, with nothing left to add\u2014but in reality, it is an experience open to every disciple of the Lord. In every generation, the sufferings of the disciples are grafted onto the mystery of the Lord\u2019s Passion, Death, and Resurrection, making it present in the here and now of history (cf. Col 1:24).

Less than a century ago, in neighboring Spain, during the religious persecution of 1936, a martyrdom took place\u2014a display of faithfulness as magnificent as it is unknown in many churches around the world. In recent years, many young people from all over the world have traveled through Spain\u2014whether making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela or heading to Madrid or Lisbon for World Youth Day\u2014often unaware of the rich history of faith found in the churches that welcomed them. In most cases, they returned surprised and deeply moved. Spain has been bathed and beautified by the blood of countless martyrs scattered across its territory\u2014men and women who, free from apostasy and filled with apostolic zeal, bore heroic witness to the faith and forgave their executioners, even as the latter were driven by an incomprehensible, fratricidal violence. Indeed, the last century has seen more martyrs in the Church than all previous centuries combined.

We can certainly affirm that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of future Christians.” Born of an unwavering fidelity to Jesus Christ, an apostolic seed has sprouted in Spain\u2014one that has borne fruit for the entire Church\u2014giving rise to numerous ecclesial movements, such as the Neocatechumenal Way, with which the author of this book has been involved since his youth.

There have been so many courageous testimonies of faith that sharing them with the world, with every generation, and especially with the Churches of Italy, is both a duty and a near-necessity. How could we fail to be moved by the accounts of the suffering endured by the martyrs of Barbastro and their bishop, or by reading the letters of young Francisco Castell\u00f3\u2014to name but a few? They are truly numerous\u2014a great treasure, a source of great glory, and magnificent models for us all.

This book presents a unique example: a mother and her four daughters\u2014all cloistered nuns (three Capuchins and one Discalced Augustinian). Like the Maccabean martyrs, here is a mother who served as the pillar and support of her daughters’ faith. The discovery of this family\u2019s letters came as a surprise\u2014one that the author of this book has embraced with passion.

I have known Salvador David personally for over twenty-five years and have witnessed his dedication to this work and his commitment to sharing it\u2014including as a missionary in Peru, where I serve the Church as Apostolic Nuncio\u2014with other Churches. I am deeply grateful to him for this.

May the Lord help many, through the reading of this book, to persevere tirelessly on the path of faith until the end of the race (cf. Heb 12:4).

May the blood shed by Mar\u00eda Teresa and her daughters\u2014Mar\u00eda Jes\u00fas, Mar\u00eda Ver\u00f3nica, Mar\u00eda Josefa, and Felicidad\u2014intercede for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\nPaolo Rocco Gualtieri
Apostolic Nuntio to Peru
Lima, January the 27th, 2026<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n
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New translation to Italian In anticipation of the upcoming Italian translation of the book *Cartas desconocidas de una familia m\u00e1rtir* (Unknown Letters of a Martyr …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3762,"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3761\/revisions\/3762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martiresparroquiasanpiox.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}