Blessed Julián Rivas Rojano

Julián Rivas Rojano (Baena, Córdoba, February 16, 1878 – Cabeza del Buey, Badajoz, August 13, 1936) was a Spanish priest. He was baptized the day after his birth by his parents, José María Rivas Cordero and María del Carmen Rojano Bujalance. This baptism was confirmed by Bishop Sebastián Herrero during a pastoral visit to the town on November 26, 1884. He entered the Seminary of San Pelagio at the age of 15, and in 1897 he moved to Rome, where he enrolled at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Between December 26, 1899, and June 20, 1901, he had to leave the city due to his enlistment in the army. In 1903, he completed his doctoral examinations, and on July 19 of that same year, he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val. In 1903, he returned to Córdoba, and between August 1, 1903, and September 28, 1906, he served as coadjutor at the Parish of San Bartolomé in the town of Montoro. Subsequently, between September 29, 1906, and May 23, 1910, he held the positions of coadjutor of the Parish of the Sagrari at the Cathedral of Córdoba and Secretary of Chamber and Government of the Diocese. Finally, on May 24, 1910, he was appointed priest of the Parish of Nuestra Señora de la Armentera in the town of Cabeza del Buey, in the province of Badajoz, which at that time was part of the Diocese of Córdoba. Between 1930 and 1934, he also served as Archpriest of Castuera. He is considered one of the martyrs of the religious persecution in the Diocese of Córdoba between 1936 and 1939. He was arrested on August 13, 1936, along with two other priests. Taken to the local cemetery, he was executed by firing squad that same night along with a group of about 40 people and buried in the same cemetery.