Pope Francis names 14 new saints including martyrs of Damascus

• Pope Francis canonized 14 new saints, including a father of eight and Franciscan friars killed in Syria for refusing to convert to Islam.

• The saints were named “Martyrs of Damascus” and were venerated by the global Catholic Church.

• The saints were praised for their lives of sacrifice, missionary zeal, and service to the Church.

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Pope greets Ugandan Believers

• Urges prayers for missionaries on World Mission Sunday.

“Let us support, with our prayer and our aid, all the missionaries who, often at great sacrifice, bring the shining proclamation of the Gospel to every part of the world,” he said.

“May the Virgin Mary help us to be like her and like the Saints courageous and joyful witnesses of the Gospel.”

• The canonization was attended by thousands of Believers

• The saints were emphasized for their service, highlighting how every gesture of attention, care, expression of tenderness, and work of mercy becomes a reflection of God’s love.

• The Gospel for the Mass was chanted in Greek in addition to Latin in honor of the 11 Martyrs of Damascus.

• Father Marwan Dadas, a Franciscan friar from Jerusalem, expressed the significance of the martyrs’

testimony to people suffering due to ongoing war and violence in the region.
• St. Giuseppe Allamano, a diocesan priest who founded the Consolata Missionaries and the Consolata Missionary Sisters, was among the new saints.

• St. Marie-Léonie Paradis, a Canadian religious sister, was also canonized. She founded the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, an order whose spirituality and charism is the support of priests through prayer and by taking care of the cooking, cleaning, and laundry in rectories in “humble and joyful service.”

• St. Elena Guerra, known for her ardent devotion to the Holy Spirit, was among the canonized. She founded the Oblates of the Holy Spirit and was instrumental in promoting the first-ever novena to the Holy Spirit under Pope Leo XIII in 1895.

Pope Francis Canonizes 14 Saints, Including “Martyrs of Damascus”

• Pope Francis canonised 14 individuals, including the “martyrs of Damascus,” who were killed during the Ottoman Empire in Syria.
• The canonisation ceremony took place in Saint Peter’s Square, attended by thousands of Catholic faithful worldwide.
• The canonisation is the final step towards sainthood in the Catholic Church, following beatification.
• The “martyrs of Damascus” include 11 individuals who became saints 160 years after their death.
• Damascus, home to one of the oldest Christian communities, has a Christian population of only about two
• percent today.
• The canonisation of the Damascus group is similar to the situation of many Christians in the Middle East today.
• The other three individuals who died early in the 20th century founded religious communities.
• Pope Francis also announced the canonisation of Italian teenager Carlos Acutis, who died from leukaemia in 2006.