Two martyrs — St. Stephen and St. Thomas Becket — and the Holy Infants who lost their lives to Herod’s vicious pursuit of Christ have feast days this week. What is the church trying to tell us by situating these particular feasts just after the joyful celebration of the Savior’s birth?
During his formal meeting May 11 with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, Egypt, Pope Francis announced that he was adding to the Catholic calendar of saints the 21 Coptic martyrs killed in Libya by Islamic State fighters in 2015.
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The Ulmas are on the path to beatification with the Vatican declaring them martyrs Dec. 17, 2022.
The delegation from El Salvador came to the Vatican to give thanks for the January beatifications of Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande and his two companions, as well as the beatification of Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto.
The Ukrainian Catholic Church at home and abroad, he said, has become “a powerful voice” for sharing with the world “who Ukrainians are, what they fight for, what they live and die for.”
The Special Episcopal Commission to Promote Beatification and Canonization held its closing session June 7 for preliminary examination of 81 Servants of God, the title accorded to individuals as the first step toward canonization.
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, during a Jan. 22 beatification Mass for the country’s four new blesseds, challenged Salvadorans to learn about the past through its martyrs.
