Saint Innocencio of Mary Immaculate (March 10, 1887–October 9, 1934), born Emanuele Canoura Arnau, was a member of the Passionist Congregation and a martyr of the Spanish Civil War. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1999. His feast day is October 9.
Life
He was born on March 10, 1887 at Santa Cecilia del Valle de Oro, near the Cantabrian coast in the province of Lugo in Spain and joined the Passionist seminary at the age of 14 at Peñafiel, near Valladolid. He joined the Passionist Congregation at Deusto (Biscay) and then continued his philosophy and theology. At Mieres, not far from Turón, he was given the sub-diaconate in 1910, the diaconate in 1912 and was ordained priest in 1920. As a priest he preached missions and also taught in various schools. Whilst he was in Mieres he had been asked by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle) to hear the confessions of the children on their school as they prepared for their First Communion. This was at the time of the Asturias revolt, when communists and anti-clericalists had risen up against the Second Spanish Republic.
Martyrdom
On Friday October 5th 1934, a group of strikers forced their way into the Brothers’ school in Turón. At the time Father Innocencio was in the school exercising his priestly ministry. Alongside the Brothers, Father Innocencio was imprisoned in the so-called “House of the People” where they would wait the judgement of the Republican committee. They were condemned to death and, in the early hours of October 9th, 1934, were all executed by a firing squad, and their bodies were buried in a common grave.
Canonization
Innocencio and his eight fellow martyrs were declared venerable in 1989, beatified on April 19, 1990, then canonized on November 21, 1999 by Pope John Paul II.
