Memorial of Blessed Ignatius de Azevedo and companions, martyrs.  In 1570 a large group of Jesuits, led by Blessed Ignatius de Azevedo, was traveling to Brazil. At that time, the Atlantic waters were infested with Protestant pirates, who attacked the religious men's ship near the Canary Islands, and all were massacred. They are venerated as “The Forty Martyrs of Brazil.”