Pope Beatifies 8 Spanish Civil War Martyrs, 2 Others

Pope John Paul II, already responsible for more than half the beatifications performed in the last 400 years, on Sunday added 10 more people to the Roman Catholic Church’s list of potential saints.

Of the 1,611 faithful beatified since 1605, when the Vatican codified the church’s last formal step before sainthood, 819 have been accorded the honor by John Paul, whose papacy began in 1978. John Paul also has named 276 saints.

The latest additions to the church’s roll call of the blessed include eight men who died for their faith during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War.

The other two are a 17th-century Frenchman, Nicolas Barre, who founded religious orders dedicated to teaching poor children, and a disabled and ailing German laywoman, Anna Schaffer, who won fame for giving comfort to the suffering before she died in 1925.

Beatification is not a guarantee of sainthood. While one miracle is required to be beatified, a second one is needed for a person to be named a saint, unless the person was a martyr. Many of those beatified never become saints.