Maria del Sufragio Orts Baldo
Sister of the Congregation of Christian Doctrine, martyr of the persecution in Spain
Who they were
The Roman Martyrology names her on 20 November among the blessed virgins and martyrs of the Congregation of Christian Doctrine killed in the Spanish persecution.
The Acta Apostolicae Sedis record that she was born at Altea in the diocese of Orihuela-Alicante on 9 February 1888, gave herself as a young woman to works of charity and to catechetical teaching, and entered the Congregation of Christian Doctrine in 1922.
The Acta Apostolicae Sedis record that the sisters of the Mislata community of the Congregation of Christian Doctrine were taken on the evening of 20 November 1936 to the place called Picadero de Paterna, six kilometres from Valencia, and shot there that same night without any trial; they were beatified at Rome on 1 October 1995 by John Paul II with Angela de San Jose Lloret Marti and sixteen companions.
The miracles
As a martyr she was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
She was shot with her community at Picadero de Paterna for remaining faithful to Christ.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
- Roman Martyrology, 20 November (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 86 (1994) - decree on the martyrdom of the Sisters of Christian Doctrine of Mislata
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 89 (1997) - beatification letter
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.