martyrs

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.

In the spotlight: Tension in Ukraine, national March for Life, Salvadoran martyrs, tsunami

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.

As El Salvador gets ready for four beatifications Jan. 22, 2022, Bishop Hicks, who spent time as a missionary in the Central American country, says there’s a lot to glean from lives of the four martyrs from the tiny nation.