Five Franciscan friars slain in 1597 Georgia advance toward sainthood

Five Spanish Franciscan friars killed in 1597 in what is now Georgia are being beatified, moving them one step closer to sainthood. The Vatican recognized them as martyrs after decades of research, and a ceremony in Savannah is expected to draw about 10,000 people. The friars had come to minister to the Guale, an Indigenous people; accounts say violence began after Friar Pedro de Corpa objected to a planned polygamous marriage involving a Guale leader’s relative. Beatification allows the friars to be called “blessed,” but canonization would require an authenticated miracle attributed to their intercession.