Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila
Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila (24 March 1897 - 13 August 1936) was a Spanish Roman Catholic doctor who also served as the mayor for Arbeca from 1924 until March 1930. Mullerat studied medicine in Reus and Barcelona before he married in 1922 and settled with his wife in Arbeca where he pursued his private medical practice. He was a staunch Catholic traditionalist who defended Catholic dogma from liberalist interpretations and as a doctor provided free care for the poor and would even help them with their material needs. In his tenure as mayor he helped organize religious solemnities and was also known to pursue those who made blasphemous claims and slander in public.
The onset of Spanish Civil War in 1936 caused him concern since he attributed the rise of Francisco Franco as a bleak moment for Catholics across Spain. He knew over time his life would be targeted due to his strong Christian convictions as well as of those around him. He continued his practice until he was removed from his home and killed just three miles out from Arbeca.
The process for his beatification was initiated in Tarragona in 2003 and he became titled as a Servant of God. His beatification received approval on 7 November 2018 from Pope Francis who confirmed that he was killed "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith). The beatification was celebrated in Tarragona on 23 March 2019.
In the Martyrology
- August 13 Blessed Mariano Mullerat Soldevila, layperson and martyr