Mateo Despons Tena
Priest of the Diocesan Worker Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, martyr of the persecution in Spain
Who they were
Mateo Despons Tena was born at Sant Mateu, in the province of Castellón and the diocese of Tortosa, on 5 April 1884, was ordained priest on 21 December 1907 and joined the Brotherhood the following October. He spent thirty-two years teaching seminarians at Orihuela, Tarragona, Málaga, Belchite, Salamanca and Burgos, and he died a martyr at La Salzadella with five companions on 13 August 1936. Pope Francis beatified him on 13 October 2013, among the martyrs of Joaquín Jovaní Marín and fourteen companions of the Brotherhood of Diocesan Worker Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
The decree on martyrdom records that he died a martyr at La Salzadella with five companions on 13 August 1936.
Connected on this site
- Joaquín Jovaní Marín Blessed“Pope Francis beatified him on 13 October 2013, among the martyrs of Joaquín Jovaní Marín and fourteen companions of the Brotherhood of Diocesan Worker Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” — this site's research
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 106 (2014), p. 303 - decree on martyrdom
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - beatifications of 13 October 2013
- Wikidata R3f67177f — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.