Pope honors 21st century martyrs

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, Sept.14, honored hundreds of Christians who have been killed for their faith in the 21st century, praising their courage and lamenting that their numbers were growing in many parts of the world.

- By NICOLE WINFIELD

The Vatican has been documenting these Christian martyrs, not as part of its saint-making process but to merely collect and remember their stories. Their numbers include cases of Christians being killed by Islamic militants, mafia groups or Amazonian ranchers upset at their defense of the rainforest and poor.

Leo presided over a Holy Year evening prayer service to honor them, inviting Orthodox patriarchs and Christian ministers from over 30 Christian denominations. It was part of the Vatican’s ongoing effort to underline what it calls the indiscriminate “ecumenism of blood” that unites Christians who are persecuted and killed for their faith, regardless of their particular denomination.

“Many brothers and sisters, even today, carry the same cross as our Lord on account of their witness to the faith in difficult situations and hostile contexts,” Leo said. “Like him, they are persecuted, condemned and killed.”