The Catholic Church of Puerto Rico supports the Francoist cause

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico supported the cause of the uprising from the outset. The clergy, made up primarily of Spanish priests and nuns (some affiliated with the Spanish Falange), sponsored religious events to support the rebellion. During masses and rosary prayers, people prayed for the peace of Spain, but a special prayer was included for the atonement of the “serious offenses inflicted by the Republicans.” The priests held special collections, and the nuns sold Francoist propaganda items.

The funds raised by the Church were sent to Francoist Spain through the Jesuit priest Francis X. Talbot in New York. Father Talbot, a staunch believer in Catholic anti-communism and General Franco’s crusade, organized and registered the corporation “American Spanish Relief Fund” with the U.S. State Department in May 1937. Using the logistics of parishes across the United States, he circulated pro-Franco propaganda and promoted fundraising efforts that were sent to the Archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Isidro Gomá. In May 1938, Talbot reported to the State Department that the Patriotic Board of Spanish Ladies of Puerto Rico had sent $3,548 (equivalent to $78,430 today) to Cardinal Gomá.

Some Catholics denounced the the Church’s support for the military uprising. Dutch priest Martín Berstein was among the first clergy to denounce the Falange’s ideology as incompatible with Christianity. Between August 1936 and February 1937, he published editorials in the Catholic weekly El Piloto condemning the Church’s stance. A year later, in February 1938, El Piloto ceased publication. On the other hand, the Protestant Church in Puerto Rico conveyed a message of harmony and neutrality in its biweekly publication Puerto Rico Evangélico, not aligning itself with either side of the conflict.

At the end of the war in April 1939, religious services were held in the principal cities (San Juan, Mayagüez, and Ponce). In the San Juan cathedral, Bishop Byrne celebrated a solemn mass “in gratitude for the triumph of the glorious movement,” with the participation of the Spanish Falange (which escorted the clergy into the church), prominent members of the Spanish colony, and government officials.

TTR