Who Are the Florida Martyrs?
January 26, 2023
Today is a special one for Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs, as it marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Antonio Cuipa, one of the most well known of the Florida Martyrs. I encourage you to learn more about them and join us in prayer today for their canonization and intercession.
Who Are the Florida Martyrs?
The Florida Martyrs, or "Martyrs of La Florida," are numerous individuals from the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries who are reported to have died for the Faith within the land that was once known as La Florida. This region includes modern day Florida and surrounding areas of the southeastern United States. On February 14, 2022 Bishop William A. Wack of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee submitted to Rome a list of fifty-seven of these individuals for whom credible evidence of martyrdom exists. These fifty-seven are a diverse group of men, women, and children, both Native Americans and European missionaries.
One of the most well known of these is Antonio Cuipa, or Antonio Inija, an Appalachee Native who lived at the mission of San Luis, in what is now Tallahassee. The youthful, charismatic, and highly regarded Antonio Cuipa was an inija (“noble/leader”) of the Apalachee nation, second only to the chief. Antonio and other men from San Luis bravely traveled to a neighboring mission to help defend it against invading Creek and English forces.
Captured by the invading forces, Antonio and his companions were tied to stakes with fires lit at their feet. During this agonizing torture on January 26, 1704, Antonio declared that the Most Holy Virgin appeared to him and was helping him endure his martyrdom. The extraordinary faith and holy death of Antonio and his companions captured the admiration of the Spanish king, Philip V, who directed his ambassador in Rome to inform the Pope of this event. Antonio's martyrdom and Our Lady's visitation to him are depicted in a stained glass window in the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Pensacola.
A full account of Antonio and the other Martyrs of La Florida can be found on the website of Martyrs of la Florida Missions, Inc. and in this article by Father Blake Britton.
Join us as we commemorate Antonio Cuipa and the other Martyrs of La Florida, praying for their canonization and asking their intercession in the founding of Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs.
PRAYER FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF SERVANTS OF GOD ANTONIO CUIPA AND COMPANIONS
O God, Father of all nations, you have summoned us to announce the freedom of your children.
We thank you for calling your servants, Antonio Cuipa and his companions, to proclaim the Catholic faith during the birth of a new nation.
May their example of suffering and forgiveness give us the courage to bear witness to Christ in our own time.
We also pray that they be counted one day among your saints.
Through the intercession of your Servants, grant us the following grace which we ask from your loving kindness
{here make your request}
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
