90th Anniversary of the Calafell Massacre of 15 San Juan de Dios Brothers

On 30 July 1936, fifteen brothers of the Order of Saint John of God were murdered at the Sanatorio Marítimo in Calafell, Tarragona, during the early weeks of the Spanish Civil War. Militiamen entered the hospital, searched for weapons, forced the brothers to remove their habits and, the following day, carried out the killings as part of a wider anti‑clerical campaign in Catalonia.

The event is commemorated this year as the 90th anniversary of the massacre. In 1992 Pope John Paul II beatified the fifteen brothers together with 56 other hospital workers who died in the same period, recognizing a total of 71 martyrs of the Order. Recent articles recount the historical accounts, the beatification ceremony and the ongoing remembrance of the victims.