FRANCISCO ROSELLÓ HERNÁNDEZ-en
Born:
Cartagena (Murcia), February 28, 1907
Son of: Francisco and Ascensión
Baptism:
Cartagena, Parish of Santa María de Gracia, March 11, 1907.
Marital status: Single
Martyrdom: Cartagena (Murcia), October 18, 1936.
Francisco was an only child and orphaned by his father at a very young age, he lived with his mother, Ascensión Hernández Arias, who had a flower stand on Isaac Peral Street. In July 1936, as religious persecution intensified, Francisco Roselló was a young man of 29 full of life, a commercial agent, well regarded, and about to marry Josefina García García, a former student of the Daughters of Charity. As he had no immediate family at the time the proceedings began, Josefina García’s goddaughter and a disciple, both of whom were direct witnesses to the events, appeared as such and testified before the court.
Human and Christian Formation
At eleven years old Francisco Roselló joined the Association of the Miraculous Medal as an aspirant when it was founded. His entire education revolved around the Casa de Misericordia (House of Mercy) in Cartagena, which at that time was an open, spacious school renowned for its charitable work and for promoting the children and young people entrusted to its care. Its influence was such that many companies sought out the best employees from among its students.
Referring to the serious and demanding formation that was given in the school, Sister Dolores Cano Teruel, who did not know Francisco personally but did know his classmates because she had been a teacher there for forty years, testifies:
“I can affirm that the Sons of Mary of Mercy were the example of Cartagena. Sister Frances kept them on the straight and narrow; even from school age, she could leave them alone and they continued to behave as if she were present. They were young people and parents of impeccable morals, cheerful, generous, and so continued their successors. They were very hardworking. They were placed in the main companies and fulfilled their obligations very well.” (1)
Francisco Roselló was an excellent Christian and a good professional.
In addition to his mother – a kind, hardworking person from whom he never separated – and the Daughters of Charity, the main architects of his formation were the priests of the Association with whom he was united in life and in death, since all of them died martyrs in the same religious persecution.
Apostleship
For many years, Francisco Roselló was president of the Association of Children of Mary, a position he held when the great Marian festival was celebrated in Cartagena in May 1930, on the occasion of the first centenary of the manifestation of the Miraculous Medal.(2)
In July 1936, he was vice president of the Association. He was always a tireless collaborator. Many congregants had him as their sports coach. He visited the sick in hospitals and assisted poor families in the neighborhoods.(3)
The theater was an important attraction to incorporate new members into the apostolic work being carried out in the Casa de Misericordia. Francisco Roselló, who always knew how to put his human qualities at the service of the Marian and Vincentian apostolate to which he was committed, was one of the main members of the artistic group. His performance in Pemán’s play El divino impaciente (The Impatient Divine), which premiered in 1935, was unforgettable throughout Cartagena.(4)
One of the teenagers invited by Roselló to attend the theater recounted his personal experience, an eloquent testimony of the apostolic zeal he demonstrated even in times of authentic religious persecution:
“I keep his signature on a card that Francisco Roselló Hernández, an excellent Christian and martyr, used to give to people who professed themselves to be Catholic as part of his apostolic work, while encouraging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to our Mother, the Blessed Virgin of the Miraculous Medal.
From 1933–1936, my father had a warehouse on Carmen Street in Cartagena. Francisco Roselló, as a representative of a supplier company, used to stop by to offer the products of his client. I was twelve years old at the time and, on my way back from the Marist school, I would pass by the warehouse, often running into Mr. Roselló. He was a tall, robust, and very nice young man; he always asked me if I fulfilled my religious practices, since I had told him that I belonged to the Apostleship of Prayer in the second degree, with the commitment to pray the offering, an Our Father, and ten Hail Marys daily.
He invited me to go to the Casa de Misericordia to see the theatrical performances that were performed on some Sundays, and they took me many afternoons. Despite the danger of publicly declaring oneself Catholic in those turbulent years, Roselló gave friends and acquaintances, without the slightest dissimulation or concealment, a kind of card declaring himself to be Catholic and begging that, in the event of an accident, he be administered the holy sacraments and be given a Christian burial. He gave me the one I have presented to the court and I keep it as a treasure, especially when, after religious persecution, I learned that Francisco Roselló had been murdered.”(5)
In 1929, a group of Children of Mary – including Francisco Roselló Hernández – founded the Holy Week brotherhood called Agrupación Santísima Virgen (Los Californios), which even today is maintained with great splendor and fervor among its brothers in the celebration of the Passion of the Lord.
Profile and Virtues of Francisco Roselló – Provisions for Martyrdom
We have taken a paragraph from the profile written by his friend and fellow association member, Gustavo Schmidt Sánchez, a lawyer, in El Eco de la Milagrosa (November 1939):
“How could he not fall victim to the Marxist scoundrel if he was precisely one of the best in our association? A man of unwavering piety and a deep religious sentiment, these were the essential elements of his character, which were reflected externally in those most fervent communions that served as an example and incentive for the other companions; with that strightness of judgment and that seriousness that distinguished him. In the Association of Children of Mary, formed by the best of the youth of Cartagena, he was, by his virtues, the outstanding element of which all his companions were proud.”
Physically he was a tall, handsome, strong, and a very nice young man. This is how witnesses remember him, and how he appears in the photographs kept by the Association.
Religious persecution came to him at one of the happiest moments of his life, when he was about to marry a young woman who shared his religious beliefs and, like him, had great human qualities. However, he was faithful to his principles of faith and allowed himself to be killed to the cry of “Long live Christ the King!” His own fiancée understood that sacrifice was God’s plan in his life.(6)
Bibliographic reference
Josefina Salvo Salanova, D.C., and Jaime Carlos Moreno Garví. Martyrs of the Vincentian Family: Spain 1936–1937. Madrid: Editorial La Milagrosa, 2017.
- Testimony of Sister Mª Dolores Cano Teruel.
- Sánchez Medina, José, Fiestas centenarias en Cartagena, in El Eco de la Milagrosa, June 1930, pp. 6–7.
- Testimony of Isabel Carrillo Martínez.
- Testimony of Antonio Sánchez Giménez.
- Testimony of Francisco Balsalobre Pedreño.
- Testimony of Isabel Carrillo Martínez.