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Greatness in Life and Death: The Georgia Martyrs

Greatness in Life and Death: The Georgia Martyrs

Last updated on: September 14, 2026 at 4:39 pm by Father Pablo Migone

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Greatness in Life and Death: The Georgia Martyrs 2026-09-14T16:39:58-05:00 Father Pablo Migone

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These are the notes of a homily delivered on September 13th, 2026, one day before the anniversary of the martyrdom of Friar Pedro de Corpa, and just a few weeks before the Beatification Ceremony which will take place in Savannah, Georgia.

The day after elected Pope in 2005, Pope Benedict received a group of German pilgrims at the Vatican. Among the thoughts he shared with them were these words which have become well known: “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!”

I was reminded of these words when I reflected on the words of Saint Paul in the second reading. Saint Paul teaches us that whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. He reminds us that whatever life brings, we have been created for something greater, we have been created by God out of love, we belong to Him, we are his beloved children.

I find that there is something deep within each one of us that longs for great things. We naturally aspire for that raise, we naturally aspire for our children to do better than us, we naturally aspire to accomplish something in life that remains. We want to be remembered, we want to leave a mark, we want to be recognized. This way of thinking though, can lead people astray very quickly – thinking only of self-advancement, not caring for the needs of others, bulldozing over everything in order to emerge at the top.

Saint Paul reminds us, that whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. No matter what we accomplish or do, we are already victorious because we belong to God. In God we find our greatness, it is with Him that we can accomplish great things.

429 years ago, there were Franciscan Friars living along the coast of what is now Georgia. These friars had left every comfort of their homes in Spain, and had come to the New World with a desire to share the Good News of Jesus. These were men of great promise – intelligent, brave, energetic and zealous. They left the universities and great cities of Europe, and ventured into unknown lands, knowing well it was likely they would not return home.

By 1590, the Franciscan missions along the islands of Georgia were filled with Guale natives. We know the friars lived among them without a military garrison. The Guale loved trading Spanish goods – beads, tools, leather, fabrics, etc. The Franciscans allowed the Guale to preserve many of their local traditions – for example, they were allowed to bury their dead with grave goods, and they were buried underneath the floor of the church, just as they would bury their dead underneath the floor of their houses. The Guale preserved the tradition of breaking clay pots when someone died as a symbol of freeing the person’s spirit to the world of the dead. The Spanish and Franciscans respected the power hierarchies of the Guale, allowing chiefs to pass down their authority to their heirs in the way they always had. The friars learned the language of the Guale and lived right among them, sharing a common life.

Despite the close relations and inculturation, September 1597 brought about a major conflict. The heir to the main chiefdom of the Guale, the town of Tolomato about one hour south of Savannah, wanted to take a second wife according to the old Guale tradition. Though the Franciscans had been very accommodating to indigenous practices and traditions, what the baptized young man was asking for was impossible to grant. He was Catholic, and he had to remain faithful to his one wife. The main friar of the missions, Pedro de Corpa, told Juanillo that he could not take a second wife, and if he did, he would not be in good graces with the church, and if that was the case, he would not be able to inherit the chiefdom.

The young man became furious. He gathered a few friends, and on September 14th, 1597, they killed Pedro de Corpa. They continued to another mission to kill Friar Blas, then onto Saint Catherine’s Island where Friars Miguel and Antonio lived. The chief of Saint Catherine had begged the friars to leave to save their lives, but the friars dismissed the rumors as false. Relations with the Guale were so good, it seemed impossible they would be killing the friars. After killing the two friars, they continued to kill Friar Francisco de Verascola – some historians say this happened right in Darien where the Fort King George stands today.

After so many centuries, on October 31st, the Church will recognize the heroic sacrifice of these friars. Even though it may seem they failed in their mission when they were killed, in the eyes of God, they have been made great. They lived out the words of Saint Paul – dead or alive, they belong to God and live for Him. In their perseverance and fidelity, God has made them great, and here we are centuries later, remembering them.

“The world offers us comfort, but we were not made for comfort. We were made for greatness!”

Where does the Lord call us to perseverance and fidelity to the commitments we have made? How is he asking you to offer yourself in sacrifice out of love for others? Life can be come routine, and it is easy to wonder what is the purpose of it all. It is in the Lord that we find our purpose, and it is He who transforms the little that we offer Him into great things. May we look forward with hope, inspired by the life and example of these friars, knowing that it is through the Lord that everything that we do can be transformed into greatness.

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