Martyrdom Archives

Italian judge latest example of Church’s new test for ‘martyrdom’

Dec 23, 2020

Rosario Livatino, 37 at the time of his death, will become the first Italian anti-mafia judge to be beatified, following in the footsteps of Father Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi, the country’s best known anti-mafia priest, who was killed in 1993 and beatified shortly after Pope Francis’s election in 2013.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Pope advances causes of four 20th-century martyrs

Oct 29, 2020

Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of five men and four women, including four 20th-century martyrs killed in Brazil, Turkey and Italy.

By Carol Glatz

Klausener remembered as first Catholic victim of Nazi regime in 1934

Oct 6, 2020

Early 20th century-era Catholic leader Erich Klausener holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Berlin’s Catholics.

By Anli Serfontein

Forty years after killings, Salvadoran city claims Maryknoll Sisters as its own

Sep 4, 2020

On a bright and clear January afternoon, Bishop Oswaldo Escobar Aguilar walked into a cemetery and gently dusted off a white name plate on top of a sky-blue block of tombs. Making plans for the year ahead, he told secretary Violeta Esmeralda Serrano nearby that they needed to make sure the tombs were decorated with flowers Dec. 2.

By Rhina Guidos

Romania marks first national day honoring persecuted Christians

Aug 15, 2020

On Sunday Romania marked its first ever National Day of Awareness of Violence against Christians, a move intended to honor Romanian Orthodox martyrs and raise awareness about global anti-Christian persecution.

By Elise Ann Allen

Nigerian bishop: Murdered seminarian had courage of a martyr

May 14, 2020

A murdered Nigerian seminarian had the courage of a martyr, his bishop said after three men were arrested for murder and kidnapping.

By Catholic News Service

Salvadoran church, survivors mark 40th anniversary of river massacre

May 14, 2020

In a remote area called Las Aradas, where the river straddles Honduras and El Salvador, more than 600 people were killed over a 12-hour period on May 14, 1980.

By Rhina Guidos

Catholic priests, nuns were among those killed by Nazis

May 10, 2020

The Nazis’ systematic persecution and genocide led to the deaths of 6 million Jews in Europe, but Catholic priests and nuns were also among their victims.

By Jonathan Luxmoore