This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the conference promoted by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and the Commission for New Martyrs – Witnesses to the Faith, “The 21st century: a new time of martyrs?”.
The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present during the meeting:
Address of the Holy Father
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Your Eminence,
Dear brothers and sisters!
I am pleased to welcome you at the end of the Conference The 21st century: a new time of martyrs?, organized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and the Commission for New Martyrs – Witnesses to the Faith. This name is intended to denote a broader category, distinct from the martyrs whose cause for beatification is ongoing and those who are officially inscribed in the book of Blesseds and Saints. Indeed, the Commission, established by Pope Francis in 2023, aims to gather testimonies about those who have lost their lives for Christ, irrespective of the canonical process, so that their example is not lost.
They are brothers and sisters who, in different geographical, historical and political contexts, have given their life for the Gospel. They remind us of the words of the Risen One in His final apparition before ascending to heaven: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Their witness tells us that even in our time, dominated by the culture of power, of boundless force and by the ceaseless development of weapon systems (cf. Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas, Chapter V), is an age that witnesses the heroism of those we like to call “new witnesses to the faith”.
Many of them are killed as a result of the abuse of power or by criminal organization because, as Christians, they oppose these injustices in the name of the Gospel. The concept of “witness to the faith” was formulated precisely to acknowledge and honour complex historical situations in which the perpetrators’ motives cannot be explicitly attributed to “hatred of the faith”. From this perspective, the work of the Commission for New Martyrs – Witnesses to the Faith, supported by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, is of a historiographical and educational nature, not a legal one, focusing on the victim’s state of mind rather than on the persecutor’s motives. In other words, the emphasis is on the fact that the victim remained faithful to Christ in fulfilling their evangelical commitment and did so unto death.
Jesus Himself had foretold this during the Last Supper: “In the world you have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!” (Jn 16:33). In these witnesses to the faith, it is evident that perseverance in doing good and fidelity, even to the point of the supreme gift of self in love, drew strength from the victory of the slain Lamb over evil, the only certainty capable of offering profound peace to those who believe in Him.
They heroically manifest the Christian way of life, which never seeks confrontation, but rather defuses it through the power of meekness. As Pope Francis writes, “The disciple is ready to put his or her whole life on the line, even to accepting martyrdom, in bearing witness to Jesus Christ, yet the goal is not to make enemies but to see God’s word accepted and its capacity for liberation and renewal revealed” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, 24).
The evangelizing strength of the new witnesses to the faith represents one of the Church’s greatest resources for proclaiming the Gospel in today’s world, in accordance with Saint Paul VI’s well-known statement in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (no. 41).
The witnesses to the faith do not propose an ideology, but show a faith lived out in everyday life. Their credibility stems from the consistency between their words and actions, a consistency often taken to the point of the supreme sacrifice. In indifferent cultural contexts, “holiness next door” and quiet heroism become powerful arguments, capable of speaking to everyone, even the most sceptical.
Dear friends, we admire these brothers and sisters of ours like stars that shine out in the darkness of selfishness and oppression. They help the Church to reflect more fully the light of Christ the Lord, so as to show contemporary humanity the path that leads to the civilization of love. We are all called to make our contribution to “this prospect of commitment, this construction site of hope” (Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas, 185). The witnesses to the faith, by giving their lives for justice, truth, peace and freedom, have effectively contributed to the coming of the new heavens and the new earth, which we await with confidence through God’s mercy.
I thank you for the dedication with which you carry out this valuable service, and I hope that your days of study and discussion will be fruitful. May the intercession of Mary Most Holy, Queen of Martyrs, obtain this for you, and may the Apostolic Blessing, which I wholeheartedly impart to you all, accompany you.
