the costly price of christian love

SAINTS JOURNEYING WITH US
AN ON-LINE PUBLICATION OF THE HAGIOGRAPHY CIRCLE
vol. 1, no. 3
CARMEN MORENO BENÍTEZ
& AMPARO CARBONELL MUÑOZ:
THE COSTLY PRICE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE
? 6 SEPTEMBER 1936
O
n the morning of 29 August, an
elderly countryman knocked at the
door of an ostensibly quiet house at
Plaza Gironella. A middle-aged
woman opened the door from within and
looked at him furtively. He carried with him
a basket of tomatoes and offered it to her.
That was the secret signal.
She let him inside the house where two
other women had been anticipating his
arrival. With the door firmly locked behind
them, they commenced with the actual
purpose of that clandestine meeting. The
man was really a Jesuit priest named
Bartomeu Arbona Estades. A pious alumna
of the confiscated Colegio de Santa
Dorotea, just a stone’s throw away from that
house, had directed him to hearten the three
Salesian Sisters in their hideout and
invigorate them with the sacraments. All
had to be done expeditiously.
Barcelona was one of the fiercest
theaters of the religious persecution that
accrued with the Spanish Civil War. Priests
and clerics had set about their ministry
covertly. Nuns and sisters donned ordinary
clothes and concealed religious articles that
might divulge their identity. In spite of these
precautions, the Church of Barcelona was
incarnadined within only two months.
Cadavers of churchworkers, riddled with
CARMEN MORENO BENÍTEZ and
AMPARO CARBONELL MUÑOZ
Within the carnage that was the Spanish Civil War, stood out the
eloquent testimony of these two spiritual daughters of St. John Bosco.
In freely opting to remain in a city ravaged by fratricidal conflict to be
at the side of a terminally ill sister, though they could have chosen
otherwise, Carmen (left) and Amparo (right) became surreal signs for
every age of the power of love and selflessness in the midst of violence
and hate.
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bullets and grotesquely disfigured, were
abandoned on the very spot of their
execution.
A foreign vessel had managed to allay
that bloodbath significantly. By August
1936, the Principessa Giovanna had
evacuated to Italy some 500 individuals in
two separate occasions. Most of these were
religious sisters given safe-conduct passes
by functionaries of the Generalitat, the
parliament of Cataluña. The ship was
scheduled to dock one last time at the city’s
Maritime Station on 1 September.
The three Salesian sisters in Plaza
Gironella were still waiting for instructions
from their superiors, who already had found
refuge in their general headquarters at
Turin. Perhaps they entertained the
prospect of joining the refugees leaving in a
few days aboard the Principessa Giovanna.
Notwithstanding this possibility, Fr. Arbona
left the Salesians two pieces of consecrated
bread for their consumption. Before
departing, he promised to return to the
sisters in fifteen days. But that was not to
be. In a week’s time, two of the sisters would
Built for the Lloyd Sabaudo Line in 1923, the Italian
steamship Principessa Giovanna ferried some 500
individuals – mostly religious sisters – from Cataluña to
Italy during the months of August and September 1936
with the approval of the Generalitat.
be executed at the city’s hippodrome. Fr.
Arbona would share their fate a few months
later.
***
A total of three mass evacuations took
place. The first group left the port of
Barcelona for Italy on July 27. The second
group fled a week later, August 7. The third
and final exodus took place a month later,
September 1, with something like a
thousand evacuees.
Situated at the back of the Colegio de Santa Dorotea, the
Jahr residence became a temporary refuge for some sixty
Salesian sisters – and the last domicile of the two martyrs.
A series of apartments now stand at the site of the villa.
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A contingent of 56 professed sisters and
10 novices of the Daughters of Mary, Help of
Christians (the Salesian Sisters) from the
Provincial House and the Colegio de Santa
Dorotea in Sarrià were among those
scheduled to board the Principessa
Giovanna on August 7. They were given
safe-conduct passes by the Catalan
government the day before, and those who
preceded them in Genoa, Italy eagerly
waited their arrival.
The sisters spent their last night in
Barcelona in the house of a certain Mr. Jahr,
a German Protestant who just fled Spain
CARMEN MORENO BENITEZ & AMPARO CARBONELL MUÑOZ
and offered his house to the sisters. In
those tense moments, Sr. Felisa
Armendariz, the provincial, contemplated a
dilemma.
The provincial treasurer, Sr. Carmen
Xammar Soler, was in a clinic, recovering
from an operation. To board the ship would
be precarious to the health of the sister;
thus, she had to remain in Barcelona while
recuperating. However, she would need not
be alone; another religious could stay
behind and oversee the infirm. Sadly, that
meant limiting another sister’s chance to
escape possible death.
That night, Sr. Felisa opened the
problem to her sisters. She asked for any
volunteer. Two of the sisters approached:
Sr. Carmen Moreno, the assistant superior
of the Colegio, and Sr. Amparo Carbonell.
They both volunteered to remain, their offer
being spontaneous and immediate.
***
María del Carmen Moreno Benítez was
born on August 24, 1885 at Villamartin,
Cadiz. Her widowed mother inculcated in
her a strong desire to lead a life of holiness.
She studied in the Colegio de las Salesianas
in Seville. The family had been friends and
acquaintances of the Salesians ever since the
congregation was established in Spain. In
fact, Paz, the older sister of Carmen, had
joined already the Salesians.
From her childhood, Carmen manifested
personal traits that were superior to her age.
To her family and friends she was very
sweet and understanding. People noted her
prudence and piety even as a girl. Desirous
to consecrate herself to God, Carmen
wanted to follow her sister in the religious
life. She, however, had to delay her plans for
a while in order to attend to her sick
mother. Overcoming later her mother’s
opposition, she received the permission to
pursue her vocation.
On August 28, 1906, Carmen joined the
Salesian Sisters. Two years later, on August
22, 1908, she made her first profession at
the age of twenty-three. She took up a
teaching course at the Escuela Normal del
Magisterio of Seville in anticipation of her
future ministry. On September 20, 1914,
Carmen pronounced her final vows.
For more than ten years, Sr. Carmen
practically devoted most of her time to
teaching. Exercising her ministry in Seville
and Écija with great diligence, she won the
affection of her students and her fellow
religious. Young girls found in her an older
sister who unhesitatingly attended to their
needs and loved them genuinely.
In 1924, she was transferred to the
provincialate in Sarriá. Her superiors
quickly noted her prudence and leadership
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qualities. Along with these, she was a docile
religious who submitted herself without
question to the will of her superiors and to
the rules of her religious institute. Thus,
within a few months, Sr. Carmen was
appointed superior of the convent school of
Valverde del Camino in Huelva.
Among the young religious who came
under her guidance in Valverde was Eusebia
Palomino, a modest religious graced with
mystical gifts. She did not live a long life,
dying a year before the civil war erupted.
Before expiring, however, Sr. Eusebia
confided a subtle revelation to her superior:
“In the year 1936, you will suffer much.”
Shortly after Sr. Eusebia’s death, Sr.
Carmen was appointed superior of the
convent at Jerez de la Frontera. Not so long
later, she received notice that she has been
appointed provincial vicar and superior of
the Provincial House. She promptly
reported for duty in Sarrià. It was here
where the civil war caught up with her.
When asked by the sisters if she would
join them, Sr. Carmen made a straight reply.
“No, I will stay here. Sister Carmen
(Xammar) is still in the clinic of Dr.
Corochan.” She then added, “Anyway, no
matter where we are, we must suffer.”
***
María de los Desamparados Carbonell
Muñoz was born on November 9, 1893 in
Alboraya, Valencia. She came from a large
family of field workers and laborers. As a
child, Amparo was noted for her generosity
and constancy. Her pious inclinations were
not, however, understood by her family. She
also did not enjoy good health. Amparo
patiently bore these misunderstandings and
weaknesses.
In 1903, when Amparo was ten years
old, the Salesian Sisters established a youth
center in Valencia. The weekly catechetical
classes she attended and the spiritual
direction of Salesian Fr. Guillermo Viñas
had a profound effect on her. By the age of
thirteen, at the death of her older sister,
Amparo started to work as market vendor of
the produce of her family. Because she
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CARMEN MORENO BENITEZ & AMPARO CARBONELL MUÑOZ
Despite all her good
qualities, she nearly did not
make it to final profession.
She volunteered to help in the
construction of the
provincialate chapel. Her
effort weakened her already
feeble constitution. Her health
debilitated further after she
contracted pleurisy from
nursing a sister sick with
tuberculosis. These were
serious obstacles her superiors
had to consider. But they also
noted her outstanding
qualities. By God’s grace, she
was allowed to take her final
vows. Her gratitude toward
her superiors was very moving.
attended the first mass of the day before
going to the market, she had to forego of
breakfast to comply with the strict
eucharistic fast of her time.
Many obstacles prevented Amparo from
joining the Salesian Sisters earlier in life.
Her own family was very much opposed to
the idea and they were unwilling to provide
her with a dowry. She did not have a
sufficient education. Lastly, although
familiar with farm work, Amparo was not
familiar with most skills that society
expected women of her time to know. When
she finally entered the postulancy in Sarrià
on January 31, 1921, she was already
twenty-seven – rather late by according to
the standards of her time.
Sr. Amparo made her first profession on
August 5, 1923. Her duty as a gardener
properly fitted her. Members of the
community remembered her for her
humility, sincerity, practical intelligence,
and candidness, as well as her spirit of
sacrifice, Eucharistic devotion and love for
her congregation. She easily identified
herself with St. Maria Mazzarello, the cofoundress, who was a peasant like her.
By 1931, anti-clericalism in
Barcelona rose to an alarming
level. The sisters in Sarría
were well advised to leave their convent. Sr.
Amparo stayed with her family during this
period of chaos. The apathy of her kin did
not change and they tried every way to
discourage her from returning to the
convent. She also had to defend the
teachings of the Church concerning
marriage. Sr. Amparo, nonetheless,
endured patiently those trying moments
and remained faithful to her choice of life.
After a degree of peace was restored, she
left her family. She was assigned for two
semesters as portress in the Salesian school
at Torrente. Later she returned to Sarrià
when the persecution of religious began to
intensify.
With characteristic fidelity to work, Sr.
Amparo fulfilled her duties at the Colegio de
Santa Dorotea. She spent much of her time
working contentedly at the community
garden. Her superior recalled: “We would
never forget her heroic spirit of sacrifice
during those tragic days of the Spanish
revolution. We witnessed how she
overpowered with iron-will her sickness in
those days of anguish. Despite a raging
fever, she tirelessly went back and forth to
the Colegio, endangering her life repeatedly,
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the clinic where their infirm sister was
recuperating. The three remained there.
Five days later, with Sr. Carmen Xammar
well enough, the three decided to return to
the house of Señor Jahr.
As much as possible, the three religious
did all their best to keep their common
observances. Meanwhile, they awaited the
move of the generalate in Italy for their safe
departure. Weeks passed and their
evacuation tarried. During all this time,
past pupils of the Colegio did whatever they
can to alleviate the spiritual and material
needs of their former teachers.
in order to salvage the properties of the
community and to provide us with food.
She saw to it that her sisters, hiding in a
house close to the Colegio, lacked nothing.”
Choosing to sacrifice her safety was not
difficult for Sr. Amparo. She who naturally
understood the loneliness of being sick
easily empathized with Sr. Carmen
Xammar’s crisis. Her presence would be of
such great use to her two sisters. Loneliness
and misunderstanding accompanied her as
she grew; she was no stranger to suffering.
***
At 3:00 p.m. of August 7, the
Principessa Giovanna hauled her anchor
and departed for Italy. The choice to leave
each other for an uncertain destiny was
difficult for those who left and those who
remained. The religious nourished the hope
that they would see each other again. As for
now, they could only abide by what
circumstances allowed. Sr. Felisa assured
Srs. Carmen and Amparo that she would
work expeditiously for their safe evacuation.
After tearfully bidding farewell to their
sisters, Carmen and Amparo proceeded to
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These were days of unceasing anxiety.
They were all well aware of the situations in
the streets, of the senseless yet unabated
murder of other religious. Their Jesuit
visitor opened to them the prospect of
martyrdom. As the possibility that things
could worsen loomed, the sisters opted,
instead, to prepare themselves for death.
***
It was September 1. The Principessa
Giovanna was once more docked at the port
of Barcelona. A fresh master list of evacuees
included hundreds of religious sisters who
were still in Barcelona at the height of the
general persecution. Around 600 religious
of the city were not in that list. Among them
were the three Salesian sisters.
Complications prevented the general
government of the Salesian sisters in Rome
and their contacts in Spain from ensuring
the safe evacuation of the three at an earlier
moment. Eventually, the passports were
accomplished… but it was already too late.
Milicianos kept a vigilant eye on the
activities taking place at the Jahr residence.
The conduct of the three female occupants
must have aroused suspicion. On the
evening of September 1, they decided to see
for themselves who these ladies were and
what they were doing. The religious did not
show any resistance. Two hours passed.
Then, the three were escorted atop a lorry
and transported to the Committee for
CARMEN MORENO BENITEZ & AMPARO CARBONELL MUÑOZ
Security in Bonanova Street. Later on, they
were brought to Via Layetana.
Sr. Carmen Xammar was released after
two days of detention. She was too feeble
and it was an apparent act of mercy that she
was released. On September 10, she was
privileged to receive her passport and be
part of another mass evacuation. She
arrived in Italy with fatigue and sickness
etched on her visage. There she recounted
all that took place from the time Srs.
Carmen and Amparo arrived at the clinic
until the day she was separated from them.
The horror inflicted upon her before and
after captivity completely broke down her
health. She died a few days later.
The sisters in the generalate were
hoping to hear something more, but they
realized that Sr. Carmen was ignorant of
what befell the other two sisters who offered
to remain in Barcelona for her sake. They
waited for more news and hoped beyond
hope.
Traumatic cerebral
hemorrhage.
Nothing more was ever known.
Speculations that the two sisters were
beaten some time before execution surfaced
upon examination of the cadavers and the
photographs. The two, undoubtedly,
suffered much on the hand of their
assassins.
*****
THE DECREE ON THE MARTYRDOM OF
CARMEN MORENO BENÍTEZ AND
AMPARO CARBONELL MUÑOZ WAS
PROMULGATED ON 20 DECEMBER 1999.
THEY WERE BEATIFIED ON 11 MARCH
2001.
On September 6, two corpses were
brought from the Barcelona Hippodrome to
the Hospital Clinico. The faces were
photographed for police files and future
identification. Alumnae of the Colegio
identified who these were.
No. 4676 was badly bruised and the
countenance was grotesque. A file
described:
4676. A woman. Tall, about
fifty years old, stout, dressed
in black. Clothes marked: S
Moreno C. Shows gunshot
wound, entrance through left
temple, exit at right temple.
Diagnosis: Traumatic cerebral
hemorrhage.
No. 4677 reflected a serene face with
eyes partly opened. The accompanying file
made this description:
4677. A woman. About forty
years old. Regular height.
Stout. Clothed with a light gray
dress. Shows gunshot wound
on left superciliar region,
another on neck. Diagnosis:
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Articulos que Se Proponen para la Causa de Beatificación y Canonización de los Siervos de
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Salesiana, 1953.
Burdeus, Amadeo. Lauros y Palmas: Cronica de la Inspectoria Salesiana Tarraconense
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Collino, Maria. Il Colore Rosso dell’Amore. Turin: Editrice Elle di Ci, 2001.
Congregatio de Causis Sanctorum. Valentina. Beatificationis seu Declarationis Martyrii
Servorum Dei Josephi Calasanz Marques et XXXI Sociorum, Societatis S. Francisci
Salesii, in Odium Fidei, Uti Fertur, Interfectorum. Positio Super Martyrio. Rome: CCS,
1995.
Secco, Michelina. Cenni Biografici delle FMA Defunte nel 1936. Rome: Istituto Figlie di Maria
Ausiliatrice, n.d.
COPYRIGHT 2002 © THE HAGIOGRAPHY CIRCLE.
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