Unlike the spotless image of many holy men and women, a depiction of one of the new martyrs of the Catholic Church looks anything but polished.
Martyrs
Bishop Cisneros Visits Tomb for U.S. Women in El Salvador Who may Become Martyrs
Representatives from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops celebrated Mass Jan. 20 at the tomb of two Maryknoll sisters from the U.S. buried El Salvador — where they were murdered in 1980 — and called them “martyrs” and “models” for the Catholic Church.
April 29 Marks Day of Polish Clergy Martyrdom During World War II
April 29 marks the day Polish Catholics solemnly remember when nearly 2,000 of the country’s 10,000 diocesan priests perished during the Nazi German occupation in World War II. The day coincides with the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany.
El Salvador Church Hails U.S. Catholic Women as Models of Solidarity
In one of the regions of El Salvador most battered in a bloody war funded by American dollars, four Catholic women from the U.S. were hailed as examples of solidarity, of Christian faith and martyrdom, as Salvadorans remembered them Dec. 2, the 40th anniversary of their assassination.
Only in Print: Coptic Christians in Egypt Honor 21 Martyrs On Fifth Anniversary | Feb. 29, 2020
Coptic Christians in Egypt earlier this month observed the fifth anniversary of the martyrdom of 21 Christians in Libya at the hands of ISIS by dedicating a shrine to the victims and opening a museum at the Church of the Martyrs of Faith and the Homeland in the al-Our village in the Minya governate in Egypt, where most of the martyrs were from.
Pope Francis Beatifies Seven Martyred Romanian Bishops
On the last leg of his visit to Romania, the pope June 2 celebrated a Divine Liturgy during which seven Eastern-rite Catholic bishops, who died during a fierce anti-religious campaign waged by the communist regime in Romania, were beatified.
Author Holds Up Martyred Copts as Model for Contemporary Christians
Four years ago this week, 21 men were videotaped on a beach in Libya as their ISIS captors beheaded them one by one. Of the 21 victims, 20 were Coptic Christians from Egypt who had migrated to Libya for work. In his new book, German novelist Martin Mosebach chronicles his travels through Upper Egypt, where he met with the martyrs’ families and priests.
The Legends of Martyrs Continue to Grow
When I was a student in elementary school, I remember the nuns telling us that we would probably never be called upon to give our life’s blood for the faith. This was usually in the context about how so many martyrs had died for the faith. One of our heroes at the time was Bishop Francis X. Ford, the Maryknoller from Brooklyn who lost his life in a Communist Chinese prison camp.
A Day to Remember Today’s Martyrs
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
The Bishops of the United States (USCCB) have designated this Sunday, the Feast of Christ the King, as A Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians. As we look at our world scene today, we recognize that the persecution of Christians around the world perhaps has never been more intense since the days of the early persecutions during the Roman Empire. It sounds hard to believe in 2017, however, it is true. The situation in the Middle East especially is very troubling.