Who were the Georgia Martyrs, and how did five Franciscan friars lay down their lives in defense of Catholic marriage long before Jamestown or the California missions were founded? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Anna Mitchell welcomes author, speaker, and blogger Amy Welborn (Charlotte Was Both) to uncover a forgotten chapter of early American Catholic history.

Welborn breaks down the extensive Spanish Franciscan missionary network that stretched across La Florida, Georgia, and present-day South Carolina in the 16th century. She details the martyrdom of five Franciscan friars in September 1597 along the Georgia coast and St. Catherines Island, who were executed by a Guale chief's son after they upheld Christ's teaching on indissoluble monogamous marriage against polygamy. Welborn contrasts these early Franciscan martyrs with the later 18th-century Martyrs of La Florida, highlighting how their well-documented testimony remains a powerful witness to the sanctity of marriage today. Stream now to listen!