Faith preserved: Discalced Carmelite martyr relic discovered in Tucson

By Caitlin Burm

For more than 112 years, the Order of Discalced Carmelite Friars ministered in the Diocese of Tucson, having a profound impact on generations of Catholic families in Southern Arizona. No one understands the friars' legacy better than the parishioners at Holy Family Catholic Church and Santa Cruz Catholic Church, where the Discalced Carmelites served for more than a century.

Learn more about one Santa Cruz parishioner, whose family recently discovered a relic from Blessed Rev. Lucas of St. Joseph (Tristany)—one of the friars that served in Tucson, was martyred in the Spanish Civil War, and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI.

Parishioner Discovers Relic of Discalced Carmelite Martyr, Blessed Rev. Lucas of St. Joseph

Undated Photo/Santa Cruz Catholic Church

Diocese of Tucson Tribunal Notary, Diane León-Coleman, and her family, have a deep, rich connection to Santa Cruz Catholic Church—generations of her family have been parishioners there, dating back to when Santa Cruz held its first Mass in 1919. Coleman’s family was there when the Discalced Carmelites first came to Tucson, having been offered asylum in the United States to escape religious persecution during the Mexican Revolution. Bishop Henry Granjon had entrusted the Discalced Carmelites, including Fr. Lucas, now Blessed, with parishes like Santa Cruz as a sign of his gratitude for their ministry, and León-Coleman’s family were parishioners.

That is why, when León-Coleman’s mother, Mercedes D. León, was going through albums of her family’s collected prayer cards over the years, she found one that caught her attention—a Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (Santa Teresa de Lisieux o Santa Teresita del Niño Jesús) prayer card, signed by none other than Blessed Fr. Lucas.

“We were happy but did not know that it was a second-class relic until we shared it with Fr. Marcos Velasquez (current Pastor of Santa Cruz),” León-Coleman said.

León, holding the St. Thérèse of Lisieux prayer card, signed by Blessed Fr. Lucas.The Catholic Church classifies relics into First, Second or Third Class:

• First Class Relics: Earthly remains of a saint (body, bone, flesh, hair).
• Second Class Relics: Possessions or tools that were owned or used by a saint (Bibles, clothing, hand tools).
• Third Class Relics: Any item that has made contact with the remains of a saint.

Blessed Fr. Lucas and the Discalced Carmelite Martyrs

Rev. Jose Luis Ferroni, OCD, has extensively studied Blessed Fr. Lucas and the five Discalced Carmelite martyrs who spent time in Tucson, writing “The Catalonian Martyrs, Servants of God in the Desert,” an academic paper on the subject.

The New Outlook connected with Fr. Ferroni, a Discalced Carmelite friar who recently departed Santa Cruz for a Provincial Office in Redlands, California, who said:

“Fr. Lucas was born in 1872 [in Spain] … At 15 years of age, he began his studies in Humanities at the seminary. At age 18, he made a visit to the Carmelite Desert Monastery of Las Palmas in Spain. He began his novitiate there in 1890 and made his first profession of vows the following year. He made his solemn vows in 1894 at the hands of his brother, Fr. Ludovico.” Fr. Ferroni stated, “Fr. Lucas was sent to Mexico in 1902 where his apostolic work began… but the religious persecution in Mexico brought the Discalced Carmelites to the Diocese of Tucson in 1912. Bishop Henry Granjon, as a sign of his appreciation for the work done by the friars, assigned the newly built Holy Family Church in the city of Tucson to the Carmelites and appointed Fr. Lucas as its first pastor in 1915.”

Undated Photo/Santa Cruz Catholic Church

Fr. Lucas remained in Tucson until 1924, when he was elected provincial of the Catalonian Province and returned to Spain, according to Fr. Ferroni. It was the same year when he sent the prayer card back to León-Coleman’s family in Tucson.

“My Uncle, Jose Padilla, was a seminarian at the time,” León-Coleman said. “That is why our family believes Blessed Fr. Lucas sent him the prayer card from Barcelona, Spain, to Tucson.”

Unfortunately, a little more than a decade later, Spain's political climate grew increasingly anticlerical as a result of the fall of the monarchy and rise of republican governments. Churches burned, church property seizures occurred, and soon, the Spanish Civil War began. The Revolution shortly reached Fr. Lucas and four other Discalced Carmelite friars who had once served in Tucson. 

In July 1936, nationalist troops, republican assault guards and city militia turned the streets of Barcelona into a battlefield. Soldiers entered the Carmelite monastery in Barcelona, bringing their wounded to Fr. Lucas and the friars. The monastery was overrun by the soldiers and turned into a military fort. After a few more days of battle, with the friars caring for the wounded in the monastery, and no relief for the soldiers, a surrender became inevitable. An agreement for the soldiers to surrender was made, with the condition that their lives and the lives of their wounded, as well as the religious in the monastery, be spared. Unfortunately, as a white flag was run up the bell tower of the monastery, an angry mob descended upon it—breaking doors and windows and attacking the friars.

Blessed Fr. Lucas

Eyewitnesses reported that Fr. Lucas exited the monastery with blood covering his face from a headwound, accompanied by soldiers. The mob is said to have wanted to lynch him, but the guards said they were taking him to authorities. From afar, a patrol shot one of the soldiers who escorted Fr. Lucas, killing him. Fr. Lucas tried to take refuge, but another patrol approached and buttstroked him with his rifle. He ordered Fr. Lucas to proceed ahead of him, and as Fr. Lucas prayed and walked, he was shot by the patrol from behind. Witnesses stated that Fr. Lucas crawled to a small oak tree and then died, facing the Carmelite monastery.

By the end of 1936, five Discalced Carmelites who had served in Tucson died, along with approximately 7,000 other religious throughout Spain. 

This included:

1.    Blessed Fr. Lucas of St. Joseph
2.    Blessed Fr. Eduardo of Child Jesus
3.    Blessed Fr. Pedro of St. Elijah
4.    Blessed Fr. Vicente of the Cross
5.    Blessed Brother Angel of St. Joseph

All were martyred in the Dioceses of Barcelona and Tarragona.

Santa Cruz Catholic Church Shrine for Discalced Carmelite Martyrs

Undated Photo/Santa Cruz Catholic Church

Within the past year, a group of parishioners at Santa Cruz have met to form a committee to establish a shrine to honor the five Discalced Carmelite martyrs who at one time served the parish. “We offer a prayer at each Mass at Santa Cruz for the Discalced Carmelite Martyrs,” León-Coleman stated.

Fr. Lucas was beatified in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI, and many Tucsonans traveled to Rome to witness the occasion.

Today, we pray to Fr. Lucas and all the Discalced Carmelite Martyrs for a miraculous intervention—and that they can move to the final step of canonization and sainthood.

Hope is born from love and is based on the love that springs from the heart of Jesus on the Cross. Through the intercession of Blessed Fr. Lucas, Blessed Fr. Pedro, Blessed Fr. Eduardo, Blessed Fr. Vicente and Blessed Brother Angel, may the grace of faith and love we received in baptism become a living flame of hope in service to the Lord and his people.

We pray to the Lord. 

Lord, hear our prayer.