SAVANNAH, Ga. (OSV News) — When Jared Seff, a Catholic artist and art instructor, decided to enter the Diocese of Savannah’s art competition for the official image of the Georgia Martyrs to be used at their Oct. 31 beatification, he already felt a connection to their cause, as he had some familiarity with it.
But, he said that in the process of painting the image of the Georgia Martyrs, he felt that they became his “friends, in a way” as he deepened his understanding of their story of standing for the sacrament of marriage and evangelizing to another culture.
Seff’s artwork was chosen from around 100 entries to become the official beatification image of the Georgia Martyrs. The watercolor painting was unveiled during the beatification Mass Oct. 31 at the Savannah Convention Center.
Bringing the martyrs ‘to life’
The Georgia Martyrs were five Franciscans from Spain who were martyred in 1597 ministering to the Guale people who lived along the coast of present-day Georgia. Their names were Friars Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez, Miguel de Añon, Antonio de Badajóz and Francisco de Veráscola.
After Father Pedro de Corpa stood by the Church’s teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman when the soon-to-be chief Juanillo wanted to take a second wife, Juanillo had Father Pedro killed and arranged the killing of the other four Franciscans serving in nearby missions.
“By doing the artwork and trying to imagine what these Franciscans’ faces would have looked like and their clothing, how it would have felt, it was kind of like an Ignatian-style prayer,” Seff reflected.
The process, he said, brought the men “to life, right in my mind’s eye.”
Painting becomes prayer
A teacher at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Seff said that over time the project “became less about making an image for a contest and more about a prayer and a devotional piece.”
“That was the most I’ve ever felt connected, even as a sacred artist, to the subject matter that I’ve painted,” he emphasized, “and I began praying, asking for their intercessions throughout the process as well.”
Before beginning the painting, Seff researched the martyrs and became “steeped in the history of the martyrs coming from Spain and to the Americas and their evangelization mission.”
“I did a little research as to what the Franciscan habit looked like at that time and talked to a historian about it a little bit,” he said. He studied Spanish faces, including in the Spanish team at the World Cup, for inspiration and added floral imagery associated with coastal Georgia to border the image.
Identifying attributes
Seff also wanted to honor the symbols associated with each of the martyrs which have been used by other artists to depict them.
Father Pedro de Corpa is depicted holding a cross, as his martyrdom took place first on Sept. 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Father Blas Rodríguez is tied with a rope, as he was tied up before he was killed. Father Miguel de Añon holds a local palmetto, alluding to the palm as a symbol of martyrdom. Brother Antonio de Badajoz holds a rosary, as he and Father Miguel were able to celebrate Mass and pray the rosary as they awaited death. Finally, Father Francisco de Veráscola holds a hat and paddle, as he was killed rowing back to the mission from St. Augustine, Florida, and didn’t have time to remove his hat.
As he worked on the painting, elements of their story resonated with Seff more and more.
“They came from so far away and they left everything to go to a completely new world, a new environment,” he said. “They also integrated themselves with the Guale, so there’s a lot of love in that, too. But the sacrifice to me is so unimaginable to leave everything behind and just to serve God in the present way he’s radically calling you to serve him, up to the point of death.”
Missionary approach
As someone who converted to the Catholic faith from Judaism just over a decade ago, Seff said the martyrs’ integration with the Guale people resonated with him “as a convert who still has a lot of family that is not in the faith and a lot of friends not in the faith.”
He admired “their example of meeting people where they’re at and embracing them and becoming part of the community, but at the same time, not swaying or sacrificing their values or Church teaching at all, still holding God’s commandments and what the Church teaches at the forefront of that balance.”
Seff and his wife are expecting their fourth child and are considering names inspired by the Georgia Martyrs or the Florida Martyrs, a group of nearly 60 Catholic clergy and lay people, including Indigenous converts, who were martyred in the same region from 1549 to 1712.
“I have such a gratitude and reverence for the sacrament of marriage,” he said, “that’s my favorite thing to tell people when they’re asking me about the Georgia Martyrs is telling them what they died for. And I think that’s such a special witness in 2026, and I think that’s also part of the reason why they mean so much to me.”
Winning the contest ‘massively humbling’
His desire to participate in the contest honoring the martyrs was also a family affair, as his 5-year-old son Declan and 4-year-old Avalia each entered their own pieces of art, “Georgia Martyr Super Heroes” and “Saints of Heaven.” Those pieces were displayed at the Children’s Exhibition at the beatification.
Seff said his art being chosen as the official image was “massively humbling” and that his hope for the painting was to make “something that that outlives me and can honor these Blesseds” with “an image that people can associate with them” and use for prayer.
Seff’s artwork can be viewed at JaredSeff.com.
Lauretta Brown is culture editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @LaurettaBrown6.
