Bishop Vicent Ribas is scheduled to lead commemorative prayers in Ibiza and Formentera on 16 October, ahead of the beatification of 20 priests killed during the Spanish Civil War at Ibiza Cathedral the following day.

The Bishop of Ibiza and Formentera, Vicent Ribas, is due to visit historic locations associated with the deaths of 20 priests from the diocese on Friday, 16 October 2026, as part of the commemorations ahead of their beatification.

The programme includes prayers at Dalt Vila, Sa Carrossa, the port of La Savina in Formentera and Sant Carles. The day will conclude with Vespers at the parish church of Santa Eulària.

The commemorations precede the formal beatification ceremony scheduled for Saturday, 17 October, at 11:00 at Ibiza Cathedral. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, will preside over the ceremony as the representative of Pope Leo XIV.

Remembering the Priests Killed During the Spanish Civil War

The 20 priests were killed during the first weeks of the Spanish Civil War, between 7 August and 13 September 1936.

Seventeen of them were killed at the former military castle in Dalt Vila on 13 September 1936. The site, now associated with the Parador project, is the first stop on the bishop’s commemorative itinerary.

At Sa Carrossa, the bishop will remember Antonio Roig Guasch, a priest serving the parish of Sant Francesc Xavier in Formentera, who was killed there on 10 August 1936.

The programme then moves to Formentera, where Juan Torres Torres was killed on 7 August 1936. He was 24 years old and had been ordained only 44 days before his death. His body was reportedly thrown into the sea at La Savina.

The afternoon commemoration will take place in the square outside Sant Carles church, where parish priest Antonio Tur Costa was shot alongside his father, Antonio Tur, on 8 August 1936.

These locations reflect separate episodes of violence during the early stages of the conflict rather than a single incident.

Schedule for Friday, 16 October

The diocese has announced the following programme for the day before the beatification:

• 10:00: Prayer and memorial service at the former military castle in Dalt Vila and at Sa Carrossa.

• 12:00: Prayer and memorial service at the port of La Savina, Formentera.

• 19:00: Prayer and memorial service in the square outside Sant Carles church.

• 20:30: Vespers at the parish church of Santa Eulària.

The traditional hymn Amunt germans is scheduled to be sung during the commemorative prayers. The evening Vespers will also include the Himne dels Beats, the hymn composed for the beatification and first performed on 10 October.

Santa Eulària is the closing venue for the religious programme, rather than one of the documented locations where the priests were killed.

Beatification Ceremony at Ibiza Cathedral

The main ceremony will take place at Ibiza Cathedral on Saturday, 17 October, at 11:00.

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro will preside as the Pope’s representative. The beatification will formally recognise the 20 priests as blessed within the Catholic Church.

The process began in 2008, when the diocese opened the cause for their beatification on the grounds of martyrdom. The diocesan investigation concluded in 2015 before the case was sent to the Vatican for examination.

The historical documentation was reviewed by the Church’s historical consultants in January 2025. Further assessments followed in 2026, culminating in Pope Leo XIV authorising the promulgation of the beatification decree on 18 June.

Further Commemorations Across Ibiza and Formentera

The programme will continue after the cathedral ceremony.

A Mass of thanksgiving is scheduled at Ibiza Cathedral on Sunday, 18 October, at 11:00. Thanksgiving Masses will then take place in parishes across the Ibiza and Formentera diocese on 24 and 25 October.

The first liturgical feast of the newly beatified priests will be observed on Friday, 6 November. Bishop Vicent Ribas is scheduled to preside over a Mass at the parish church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Formentera at 18:00.

The commemorations bring renewed attention to the lives and deaths of the 20 priests and to a beatification process that has taken nearly 18 years to reach its final stage.