July 24 -- Feast of Blessed Maria, Maria, and Teresa

Allow me to acknowledge right up front that I don't know enough about the Spanish Civil War.  It's pretty clear that Franco was a bad dude, which might make his enemies -- the Republicans -- seem like the good guys.  Moreover, Americans who volunteered to go over and fight for the Republican side were formed up in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the George Washington Battalion, and the John Brown Anti-Aircraft Battery.  From an American perspective, all that sounds pretty good.

A Spanish Republican firing squad "executes Jesus"

Then there is the militant anti-Catholicism of the Republican government in Spain.  They outlawed religious education, even in private schools.  All Church property, including churches, schools, orphanages, monasteries, and parish residences were expropriated by the government.  Many were burned.  Vestments and altar pieces were taken from churches, sometimes to be sold but often just for desecration.  As with France under the First Republic,  Mexico under Plutarco Calles, Germany under Hitler, and the Communist model under innumerable dictators, the goal was the subordination of all institutions to the secular leaders; any expression of faith in anything except the State was considered divided loyalty.  Divided loyalty is defective loyalty, and such defects are evidence of treason.

Leftist supporters of the Republican faction murdered thirteen bishops, 4172 priests and seminarians, 2364 monks and friars, and 283 nuns.

I think Teresa is in the middle

Three of these nuns -- Sister Maria Angeles of Saint Joseph, Sister Maria Pilar of Saint Francis Borgia, and Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus and of Saint John of the Cross -- were confronted by a gang of Communists in the street on July 24, 1936 in Guadalajara, Spain.  All three were Discalced (Barefooot) Carmelites nuns.  The crowd demanded that the nuns shout Viva el Communiso if they wanted to live.   Sister Teresa shouted Viva Christo Rey instead.  The nuns died of the gunshots and stab wounds that followed. 

Yeah, it's tough to see the good guys in this fight, but maybe if I learn more about it, someone will come out looking a little better.