Christian Martyrs
On the feast day of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Pope Francis said: “There are still—and there are many—those who suffer and die to bear witness to Jesus, just as there are those who are punished in various ways for behaving in accordance with the Gospel, and those who struggle every day, without making a fuss, to remain faithful to their duties, even as the world mocks them and preaches something else.”
Holiness is the universal vocation of each and every one of us, and for some, this vocation involves excruciating suffering because of the faith that animates them. As Pope Francis emphasizes, martyrs are not only the saints of the early centuries but also many people today in different parts of the world.
What is a martyr?
A martyr is a person canonized by the Church who was killed or persecuted for their faith. A persecutor is someone who cannot tolerate Christians and who inflicts great suffering on Christians who refuse to renounce their faith. We all have in mind images of the early Christians facing wild beasts in the Colosseum, such as Saint Blandine of Lyon. Even though wild beasts and arenas have disappeared today, persecution has not ceased. Christians who died in concentration camps or because they practiced charity by protecting Jews, priests murdered during Mass—such as Father Jacques Hamel—or Christians persecuted in the East are examples of martyrdom that exist today.
How does the Church recognize martyrdom?
We are probably not called to martyrdom, but none of us is excluded from the divine call to holiness.
The popes have canonized many saints during their pontificates, and among these saints are a large number of martyrs. John Paul II recognized 740 martyrs, and Benedict XVI recognized 726.
The criteria for recognizing a martyr
“The reputation of martyrdom is the opinion that has spread among the faithful about the death endured by the Servant of God for the Faith or for a virtue connected to the Faith.” Sanctorum Mater, 2007, Title II, Art. 5. (Text from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.)
To recognize a martyr, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints conducts a rigorous investigation to establish the causes of martyrdom. The requirement that must be met is that the person died because of their faith or because of another virtue related to the faith.
Two miracles are not required to recognize a martyr as a saint; one is sufficient.
The early Christians were murdered out of hatred for the Christian faith, but today, even though one might think these are political events—such as the death of Father Hamel—the fact remains that faith is also called into question.
Excerpt from the weekly audience on August 11, 2010
Pope Benedict XVI devoted an audience to the theme of martyrdom. In this excerpt, he offers a beautiful definition of what a holy martyr is.
“The martyr is a supremely free person, free from power and from the world; a free person who, through a single, definitive act, gives his or her entire life to God, and in a supreme act of faith, hope, and charity, entrusts himself or herself into the hands of his or her Creator and Redeemer; he or she sacrifices his or her own life to be fully united with Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross. In a word, martyrdom is a great act of love in response to God’s immense love.”
Christian Martyrs Throughout History
Martyrs Shortly After Christ’s Death
- Saint Longinus was the centurion who pierced Jesus’ Heart with a spear. Converted shortly thereafter, he died a martyr in the first century.
- All of Christ’s apostles died as martyrs, with the exception of Saint John, who lived on the island of Patmos until an advanced age. Saint Paul also died a martyr.
The First Martyrs Under Roman Persecution
In Rome, the persecutions against Christians were extremely severe, particularly during the reigns of Diocletian and Nero. A great many Christians were cruelly killed for their faith during that time:
- Saint Agnes, Saint Lucy, Saints Felicity and Perpetua, Saint Sophia of Rome, Saint Agatha, Saint Cecilia and Saint Anastasia, Saint Barbara, Saint Philomena, Saint Christine, Saint Justina, etc.
- Saint Valerie of Limoges, Saint Estelle, Saint Martine, Saint Reparata, and Saint Reine died as martyrs in the third century.
- Saint Sebastian, Saint Quentin, Saint Maurice, Saint Romanus, and Saint Lawrence of Rome died as martyrs in the third century.
Martyrs Throughout History
Throughout history, there have been many saints who died without renouncing their faith:
- Saint John Fisher was beheaded in London in 1535.
- Saint Ralph Milner and Saint Roger Dickenson died as martyrs together in 1591 during the “English Inquisition.”
- Blessed Justo Takayama Ukon, a Japanese samurai who converted to Christianity, died in 1615 after being exiled to the Philippines for his faith.
- Saint Melchior Grodziecki, a Polish Jesuit priest, Saint Marko Krizin, and Saint Stephen Pongracz, a Hungarian Jesuit priest, were tortured and then executed in 1619 in Slovakia.
- Blessed Francisco Pacheco was a Portuguese Jesuit priest sent on a mission to Japan; he died a martyr in Nagasaki in 1626.
- Saint Laurent Ruiz and his fifteen companions, missionaries in Japan, were tortured and killed in Nagasaki in 1637.
Blessed Pierre Berthelot, who became a Carmelite friar under the name Denis de la Nativité, died a martyr in Sumatra in 1638. - Saint Gedeon was a Greek monk from Mount Athos who set out to evangelize in Muslim lands. He was tortured and killed in 1818 in Thessaly.
- Saint Pierre Chanel, a missionary priest, died in 1841 in Futuna, Oceania.
- The 103 Martyrs of Korea, including Saint Martin-Luc Huin, Saint Antoine Daveluy, Saint Just Ranfer de Bretenières, Saint Pierre Aumaître, and Saint Pierre-Henri Dorie—priests of the Paris Foreign Missions Society—who were beheaded in 1866.
- The Holy Martyrs of Uganda, killed between 1885 and 1887.
- Blessed Isidore Bakanja, a young Congolese lay catechist, who died a martyr in 1909.
The martyrs of the French Revolution
- Blessed Pierre-Adrien Toulorge, guillotined in 1793.
- The Holy Carmelite Nuns of Compiègne, guillotined in 1794.
- The Blessed Martyrs of Orange: religious sisters guillotined in 1794.
Martyrs during World War II
World War II produced many martyrs for the Church:
- Saint Maximilian Kolbe
- Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg, a German Catholic priest, who died a martyr on his way to Dachau in 1943.
- Saint Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite priest, died a martyr in Dachau in 1942.
- Edith Stein
- The Polish martyrs of World War II, including the priest Saint Antoni Leszczewicz.
- The Polish Salesian priest martyrs who died in 1941–1942.
- The fifty French martyrs of World War II.
Martyrs of Today
- The monks of Tibhirine: Seven Trappist monks from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria were murdered in May 1996.
- Saint Oscar Romero, Bishop of San Salvador, was assassinated while celebrating Mass during Lent in 1980.
- In 2007, Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui, a 26-year-old Congolese man, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed for his faith and integrity.
- In France, Father Hamel was murdered in 2016 by Islamist terrorists while celebrating Mass. Pope Francis waived the usual five-year waiting period before opening the process for his canonization due to his martyrdom.
With Hozana, pray to the holy martyrs and for persecuted Christians
Hozana offersvarious prayer communities where you can ask for the intercession of the holy martyrs and also entrust persecuted Christians to their care.
invites you to pray in particular for vocations, which we so desperately need.
is offered so that you may share in his devotion to Our Lady.
Finally, you can also participate in and grow in faith ever more deeply, following the example of the martyrs.
