On July 2nd Fr. Solinas and the diocesan priest Pedro Ortiz de Zárate have been beatified in Argentina.

They are known as the “Martyrs of Zenta”, a little-known region in north-west Argentina. Don Pedro Ortiz de Zárate, a diocesan priest, and Giovanni Antonio Solinas, a Jesuit originally from Sardinia, dedicated themselves body and soul to the evangelisation of the indigenous peoples during the time of the “Jesuit missions” in the second half of the 17^th century. Other Christians, eighteen in all, also gave their lives in the context of this mission.

Born in 1643 in Sardinia, Giovanni Antonio Solinas first met the Jesuits in their college and received from them a solid cultural and religious formation. He chose to join the Society of Jesus as soon as he finished his studies. With Saint Francis Xavier as his inspiration, he dreamed of becoming a missionary in India, but immediately after being ordained to the priesthood, he was sent to Paraguay. There he worked for ten years in the famous “Reductions” that the Jesuits had set up to help the indigenous peoples to live better and in peace. Then he was sent to the Zenta Valley, today in the province of Salta in Argentina, to offer the Gospel to the indigenous Hohomás. It was there that he was martyred on 27 October 1683. From the moment of his tragic death, people spoke of his holiness both in the mission territories and in Sardinia.

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