DIEZ Y BUSTOS DE MOLINA, VITORIA, BL.

Martyr, teacher, Carmelite of the Teresian Institute;b. Nov. 11, 1903, Seville, Spain; d. Aug. 12, 1936, Rincón at Hornachuelos near Cordoba, Spain. Vitoria, the only child of a devout, middle class couple, wanted to become a missionary and an artist, but bowed to her parents' wish that she teach. She studied pedagogy while also taking art classes in her hometown. Seeing an opportunity to combine teaching with evangelization, she became a member of the Teresian Institute, founded by Blessed Pedro Poveda Castroverde (1874–1936). Vitoria was assigned to teach first in Cheles near the Portuguese border. The following year she was transferred to an Andalusian country school in Hornachuelos. There she was active in the life of the parish and in charitable ministries. In addition to the charism of teaching, Vitoria possessed a profound joy that attracted others to her words. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, when many abandoned the faith, Vitoria used her position to influence her charges and their families to remain faithful. She was arrested together with 17 men by the revolutionaries on Aug. 11, 1936. The next day they were executed and their bodies thrown into a mine shaft. The declaration of her martyrdom was signed on July 6, 1993, leading to her beatification by John Paul II on Oct. 10, 1993.

Bibliography: g. martina, "To Become a Saint," Sanctity Today (Rome 1998–1999).

[k. i. rabenstein]