Vatican beatifies 498 Spanish 'martyrs'

VATICAN CITY, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of pilgrims filled St. Peter's Square Sunday as the Vatican beatified 498 Roman Catholics executed during the Spanish Civil War.

The ceremony, the largest of its kind ever, was attended by nearly all of Spain's bishops to honor those praised by the Church as martyrs, the BBC reported.

Most of the victims -- nearly all priests, monks and nuns -- were killed by militias at the beginning of the war in 1936.

Critics say the beatification recognizes victims from just one side of the war while the Vatican said the ceremony was not about "resentment but... reconciliation."

The Roman Catholic Church was closely aligned with Gen. Francisco Franco, who won the war in 1939 and then imposed nearly four decades of dictatorship.

The Roman Catholic Church views beatification as recognition that a person who has died can intercede on behalf of those who pray in his or her name.