Did You Know?

I did not... despite my Spanish heritage:

The Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War is the name given by the Catholic Church to the people who were killed during the Spanish Civil War because of their connection to the Church. As of July 2008, almost one-thousand Spanish martyrs have been beatified or canonized. For over 2000 additional martyrs, the beatification process is now underway.
Between 1936 and 1939 Spain erupted into a bloody and dramatic civil war: It was a conflict which ignited ideological enmities, resulting in a battle between democracy and fascism, between republicans and rebels led by General Franco. The Spanish Church also paid the price, subjected as it was to anarchic militias, and violent persecution.
Thousands of priests, religious men and women and lay people were massacred, simply because they were Christians. Amongst these were many members of the Salesian Family: 39 priests, 22 clerics, 24 Brothers, 2 Salesian Sisters, 4 Salesian Cooperators, 3 Salesian Aspirants and 1 lay Co-Worker; 95 in all.

There's more at the link.

Interesting read.

My grandfather was an officer in Franco's army.  I should endeavor to learn more about his role and about his experiences.

Wikipedia has this piece of information on the Martyrs:

The beatification process recognized the extraordinary fate and often brutal death of the persons involved. Some have criticized the beatifications as dishonoring non-clergy who were also killed in the war, and as being an attempt to draw attention away from the church's support of Franco (some quarters of the Church called the Nationalist cause a "crusade"). Within Spain, the Civil War still raises high emotions. The act of beatification has also coincided in time with the debate on the Law of Historical Memory (about the treatment of the victims of the war and its aftermath) promoted by the Spanish Government.

Responding to the criticism, the Vatican has described the October 2007 beatifications as relating to personal virtues and holiness, not ideology. They are not about "resentment but... reconciliation". The Spanish government has supported the beatifications, sending Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos to attend the ceremony. Among the present was Juan Andrés Torres Mora, a relative of one of the martyrs and the Spanish MP who had debated the memory law for PSOE.

The October 2007 beatifications have brought the number of martyred persons beatified by the Church to 977, eleven of whom have already been canonized as Saints. Because of the extent of the persecution, many more cases could be proposed; as many as 10,000 according to Catholic Church sources. The process for beatification has already been initiated for about 2,000 people.

At the October 28, 2007 beatifications, Pope Benedict underscored the call to sanctity for all Christians, saying it was "realistic possibility for the entire Christian people". He also noted, "This martyrdom in ordinary life is an important witness in today's secularized society."

Pope Francis will beatify 522 more martyrs on October 13, 2013 at Tarragona, Spain; among them is Eugenio Sanz-Orozco Mortera from Manila, Philippines, who will become the first Filipino martyr of the Spanish Civil War.

I find it all fascinating.

Carry on.