Pope Francis Photo: Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters
On Sunday in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Pope Francis canonised 14 new saints during a ceremony, including 11 “Damascus Martyrs” killed in Syria in 1860. The event brought together thousands of believers from around the world and officials from different countries, AFP reports.
Among the new saints are martyrs who died during the persecution of Christians by Muslim Druze in the Ottoman Empire. They were killed in a monastery in the Christian quarter of Damascus during the bloody events of July 1860. According to the Vatican News, these martyrs, including eight Franciscan friars and three Maronite laymen, died during a wave of violence that swept from Lebanon to Syria.
The first step towards the recognition of these martyrs was taken in 1926 when Pope Pius XI beatified them, and now, almost a century later, their path to canonisation is complete.
Other canonised saints
In addition to the martyrs, three other prominent figures of the Church were canonised: Italian missionary Giuseppe Allamano, Italian nun Elena Guerra, and Canadian founder of the religious congregation Marie-Leoni Paradis.
The ceremony was part of Pope Francis’ ongoing work to recognise outstanding figures in the Church, as well as a reminder of the tragic history of Christian persecution in different eras.
The next major canonisation is expected to take place in 2025 during the Jubilee of Rome, when more than 30 million pilgrims will come to the city. One of the candidates for sainthood is the Italian teenager Carlos Akutis, whose death from leukaemia in 2006 caused a great deal of publicity.
