As 2020 closed, it was regrettable that the public observations of the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom (Dec. 29, 1170) of St. Thomas Becket did not take place due to pandemic restrictions.

A Canadian missionary who, just an hour before the soldiers committed their crime, came face-to-face with men who raped and murdered four U.S. churchwomen in El Salvador in 1980, is urging Canadians to remember the martyrdom of both the American missionaries and the Salvadoran people.

The persecution of Christians around the world won’t stop for the pandemic, Aid To The Church In Need Canada said as cathedrals were bathed in red light in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal for Red Wednesday.

In June we celebrate St. Vitus’ Day, a time that honours an unusual saint whose influence was seen throughout Europe generally and in Germany in particular.

On a night dedicated to modern martyrs, Cardinal Thomas Collins urged Christians to “thank God for the gift of martyrs” and to “imitate them.”

WASHINGTON -- No one can deny that the act was horrific. Six priests found face down on a lawn with bullet holes through various parts of their bodies. One was in his bathrobe.

NAIROBI, Kenya -- The grisly murders of missionary priests and a local priest, a lay volunteer and 40 seminarians in Burundi are the focus of a recently opened investigation into their sainthood cause.

Recently I was able to visit Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont. This site is a national shrine consecrated to the Canadian Martyrs, a group of eight Jesuits who lived in community with the Huron people and who were tortured and killed for their faith. 

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' decree to beatify two Colombian martyrs from two troubled eras in the South American country's history underscores his call for courageous witness amid violence and persecution.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis will beatify a priest and a bishop martyred in Colombia when he visits the country in September, a Vatican spokesman said.

NAMUGONGO, Uganda – Walking more than 250 miles to keep a religious commitment is the least anyone can expect of Anna Aciro.

On the second anniversary of the beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was killed in 1980 by military squadrons linked to the Regime in San Salvador as he defended the poor, Pope Francis recalled Romero’s religious fervor and passion for justice while warning the faithful against a ‘lukewarm’ Church.