Holy Child of La Guardia

The Holy Child of La Guardia ( ) (died 1491) was an alleged victim of a ritual murder by the Jews in the town of La Guardia in the central Spanish province of Toledo ( Castile-La Mancha ). On November 16, 1491 an auto de fe held outside of Ávila concluded the case with the public execution of several Jewish and converso suspects that confessed to the crime under torture. Among the executed were Benito Garcia, the converso who initially confessed to the murder. However, no body was ever found, and due to contradictory confessions, the court had trouble coherently depicting how events took place. Like Pedro de Arbués , the Holy Infant was quickly made into a saint by popular acclaim, and his death greatly assisted the Spanish Inquisition and its Inquisitor General , Tomás de Torquemada , in their campaign against heresy and crypto-Judaism . The cult of the Holy Infant is still celebrated in La Guardia. Reston, James: "Dogs of Gods: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the defeat of the Moors", page 207.

Engraving with the martyrdom of the Holy Child of La Guardia. The Holy Child of La Guardia ( ) (died 1491) was the victim of a ritual murder by the Jews in the town of La Guardia in the central Spanish province of Toledo ( Castile–La Mancha ). On November 16, 1491 an auto-da-fé held outside of Ávila concluded the case with the public execution of several Jewish and converso suspects who confessed to the crime under torture. Among the executed were Benito Garcia, the converso who initially confessed to the murder. However, no body was ever found, and because of contradictory confessions, the court had trouble coherently depicting how events took place. Like Pedro de Arbués , the Holy Infant was quickly made into a saint by popular acclaim, and his death greatly assisted the Spanish Inquisition and its Inquisitor General , Tomás de Torquemada , in their campaign against heresy and crypto-Judaism . The cult of the Holy Infant is still celebrated in La Guardia. Reston, James: "Dogs of Gods: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the defeat of the Moors", page 207.

The Holy Child of La Guardia ( ) is a folk saint in Spanish Roman Catholicism and the subject of a medieval blood libel in the town of La Guardia in the central Spanish province of Toledo ( Castile–La Mancha ). On November 16, 1491, an auto-da-fé was held outside of Ávila that ended in the public execution of several Jews and conversos . The suspects had confessed under torture to murdering a child. Among the executed were Benito García, the converso who initially confessed to the murder. However, no body was ever found and there is no evidence that a child disappeared or was killed; because of contradictory confessions, the court had trouble coherently depicting how events possibly took place. The child's very existence is also disputed. Like Pedro de Arbués , the Holy Infant was quickly made into a saint by popular acclaim, and his death greatly assisted the Spanish Inquisition and its Inquisitor General , Tomás de Torquemada , in their campaign against heresy and crypto-Judaism . The cult of the Holy Infant is still celebrated in La Guardia. The Holy Child has been called Spain's "the most infamous case of blood libel". The incident took place one year before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain , and the Holy Child was possibly used as a pretext for the expulsion. As of 2016, the Archdiocese of Madrid 's official website still maintained that the alleged events actually took place. An American historian, William Thomas Walsh , defended the validity of the charge, against the research of Henry Charles Lea , who had earlier claimed it to be a fraudulent prosecution. La Guardian, Holy Child of , Encyclopaedia Judaica . Reston, James: "Dogs of Gods: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the defeat of the Moors", page 207. "A Church United in Itself: Hernando de Talavera and the Religious Culture of Fifteenth-Century Castile" . : Cite journal requires |journal= ( help ) Irene Silverblatt, "New Christians and New World Fears in Seventeenth-Century Peru" in From the Margins: Historical Anthropology and Its Futures (Duke University Press, 1998: ed. The Trial of Benito Garcia—Expulsion of the Jews—Ritual Murder" in "Isabella of Spain: The Last Crusader".London: Sheed and Ward (1935), pp 436-473

Folk saint in Spanish Roman Catholicism The Holy Child of La Guardia ( ) is a folk saint in Spanish Roman Catholicism and the subject of a medieval blood libel in the town of La Guardia in the central Spanish province of Toledo ( Castile–La Mancha ). On 16 November 1491 an auto-da-fé was held outside of Ávila that ended in the public execution of several Jews and conversos . The suspects had confessed under torture to murdering a child. Among the executed were Benito García, the converso who initially confessed to the murder. However, no body was ever found and there is no evidence that a child disappeared or was killed; because of contradictory confessions, the court had trouble coherently depicting how events possibly took place. The child's very existence is also disputed. Like Pedro de Arbués , the Holy Infant was quickly made into a saint by popular acclaim, and his death greatly assisted the Spanish Inquisition and its Inquisitor General , Tomás de Torquemada , in their campaign against heresy and crypto-Judaism . The cult of the Holy Infant is still celebrated in La Guardia. The Holy Child has been called Spain's "most infamous case of blood libel". The incident took place one year before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain , and the Holy Child was possibly used as a pretext for the expulsion. In 2015, the Archdiocese of Madrid 's official website published an article describing the Holy Child as a "martyr" and asserting that the events as described had actually taken place. As of 2023, the article is still online. La Guardian, Holy Child of , Encyclopaedia Judaica . El Santo Niño de La Guardia, mártir († 1489)

Folk saint in Spanish Roman Catholicism The Holy Child of La Guardia ( Spanish : El Santo Niño de La Guardia ) is a folk saint in Spanish Roman Catholicism and the subject of a medieval blood libel in the town of La Guardia in the central Spanish province of Toledo ( Castile–La Mancha ). On 16 November 1491 an auto-da-fé was held outside of Ávila that ended in the public execution of several Jews and conversos . The suspects had confessed under torture to murdering a child. Among the executed were Benito García, the converso who initially confessed to the murder. However, no body was ever found and there is no evidence that a child disappeared or was killed; because of contradictory confessions, the court had trouble coherently depicting how events possibly took place. The child's very existence is also disputed. Like Pedro de Arbués , the Holy Infant was quickly made into a saint by popular acclaim, and his death greatly assisted the Spanish Inquisition and its Inquisitor General , Tomás de Torquemada , in their campaign against heresy and crypto-Judaism . The cult of the Holy Infant is still celebrated in La Guardia. The Holy Child has been called Spain's "most infamous case of blood libel". The incident took place one year before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain , and the Holy Child was possibly used as a pretext for the expulsion. In 2015, the Archdiocese of Madrid 's official website published an article describing the Holy Child as a "martyr" and asserting that the events as described had actually taken place. As of 2025, the article is still online. La Guardian, Holy Child of , Encyclopaedia Judaica . El Santo Niño de La Guardia, mártir († 1489)