People attend a vigil at Lynnhurst Park to mourn the dead and pray for the wounded after a gunman opened fire on students at Annunciation Catholic School on Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Vatican City, Sep 8, 2025 / 09:15 am (CNA).
Vatican experts said on Monday that the two children killed in last month’s shooting at a Minneapolis church could one day be included on a list they are compiling of “new martyrs and witnesses of the faith.”
Harper Moyski, 10, and Fletcher Merkel, 8, were killed while attending a parochial school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church on Aug. 27 — prompting some to ask whether they could be considered martyrs killed “in hatred of the faith.”
“If the diocese or other local ecclesial entities present these figures to us as witnesses of the faith, we will examine them and see if we can include them in the list,” said Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Vatican “Commission of New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith.”
The commission, created by Pope Francis in 2023 under the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints, is compiling an archive of the lives of Christian martyrs, both Catholic and non-Catholic, who have been killed in the new millennium.
As Fabene and other experts explained on Sept. 8, the commission’s selection criteria are not the same used by the Church to formally recognize a martyr through beatification and canonization. “They are two totally distinct things,” the archbishop said.
From left, Father Marco Gnavi, Archbishop Fabio Fabene, and Andrea Riccardi give information Sept. 8, 2025, on an ecumenical liturgy to be led by Pope Leo XIV at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Sept. 14, 2025. Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
Andrea Riccardi, commission vice president and founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, said the work of the commission is “to preserve stories and names in the heart of the Church, so that their memory is not lost.” Inclusion on the commission’s list of “new martyrs” does not qualify as a beatification, he said.
Riccardi and experts spoke about the Minneapolis shooting victims, in response to a reporter’s question, during a news conference to present an ecumenical prayer service to be led by Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 14.
The service, commemorating martyrs and witnesses of the faith of the 21st century, will be held at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross — which also happens to be Leo’s 70th birthday.
Sept. 14 was chosen for the liturgy “because it is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,” Fabene said. “We are very happy about this [coincidence of the pope’s birthday] also to wish him a happy birthday.”
Delegates from 24 Christian churches and traditions will attend the ecumenical service, including Metropolitan Anthony Sevryuk, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations for the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Sept. 14 event recalls a similar ecumenical liturgy held in the Colosseum during the 2000 Jubilee Year.
When Francis established the new martyrs commission in 2023, he wrote that “the martyrs ‘are more numerous in our time than in the early centuries’: they are bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, laypeople and families, who in the different countries of the world, with the gift of their lives, have offered the supreme proof of charity.”
Looking ahead to the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, Pope Francis asked the commission to compile an updated list of Christian men and women who were killed for their faith in the first quarter of the 21st century.
Experts said on Monday that their catalog, which they hope eventually to publish, consists so far of 1,640 Christians killed in different circumstances of persecution and hatred around the world.
“The heart of this work is memory,” Riccardi said. “As St. John Paul II said, the names of those who died for their faith should not be lost.”
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Vatican City, Dec 12, 2018 / 08:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican said Wednesday that while there are no immediate plans to add new members to the C9, Pope Francis has released the three eldest cardinals from the duties of the advisory group.
Jacob Matham’s portrait of Leo XI, who reigned April 1-27, 1605. / public domain
Denver Newsroom, Sep 18, 2022 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
Blessed John Paul I did not serve as Roman Pontiff for long, but 10 other popes had shorter pontificates than he did. Their stories are a microcosm of the history of the papacy. Some were friends of saints and worked for the good of the Church, while the qualifications of others might be a bit questionable. Through all these more or less flawed men who sat in the Chair of Peter, the Catholic Church teaches that the connection to St. Peter and his profession of faith in Christ endures.
Urban VII was pope for 13 days, Sept. 15–27, 1590.
He was born Giambattista Castagna at Rome, the home city of his mother. His father was of Genoan nobility. His uncle was a cardinal, whom he served at points during his long career in the Church. He held doctorates in civil and canon law.
Castagna worked in government and diplomacy on behalf of the papacy, which at the time held civil power over parts of Italy. He led several commissions during the Council of Trent and helped organize the military alliance against the Ottoman Empire, according to the New Catholic Encyclopedia. He was appointed archbishop in 1553 and became a cardinal in 1583.
He had a reputation for genuine piety, intelligence, and ability to govern.
Jacopino del Conte’s portrait (c. 1590) of Urban VII. public domain
After his election as pope, he made sure to address the needs of the poor in Rome. His initial plans included expanded public works to employ the poor.
As God’s providence allowed, he did not have time to do much more than plan. He died of malaria at the age of 69. In his will, he left his personal fortune to support poor girls.
Celestine IV reigned for 15 days, Oct. 25–Nov. 10, 1241.
The future pope was born Goffredo da Castiglione in Milan. He spent time with the Cistercian religious order and was a cardinal bishop of Sabina. He was a nephew of Pope Urban III. He was already in poor health when he was elected, at a time when the papacy was a center of political conflict between backers and opponents of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
Boniface VI reigned for 16 days, April 11–26, 896.
He was born in Rome. Not much is known about this pope, though records indicate that during his life he was canonically deprived of holy orders on two occasions: the first time as a subdeacon, and the second as a priest. His irregular past caused controversy over his election, the New Catholic Encyclopedia says.
Theodore II reigned for 20 days in December 897.
Another little-known pope, it is said that his clergy loved him, that he loved peace, and that he lived a life of chastity and charity to the poor. He came to power soon after a low point of the papacy. Pope Theodore annulled the acts of the “Cadaver Synod,” which had put on trial the corpse of his predecessor, Pope Formosus. He recovered the dead Roman Pontiff’s body from the River Tiber and gave it a proper burial. He also reinstated clergy who had been forced to resign.
Sisinnius was pope for 21 days, Jan. 15–Feb. 4, 708.
This pope was born in Syria. His health troubles included disabling arthritis, and he was unable to feed himself. The papacy was responsible for the military defense of Rome at this time, with Lombards invading from the north of Italy and Muslim armies advancing from the south. Sisinnius ordered the walls of Rome to be reinforced as his first act, the New Catholic Encyclopedia says. Before he died, Pope Sisinnius ordained one priest and consecrated a bishop for Corsica.
Marcellus II was pope for about 22 days in April and May, 1555.
He was born Marcello Cervini, at Montefano in Tuscany. Like the sainted Pope Marcellus of the fourth century, he kept his baptismal name as his papal name.
His father worked under several pontificates as a scribe and secretary.
Before Cervini was elected pope he served various roles as a secretary to popes and cardinals, including work to correct the Julian calendar. He was actively engaged with the “New Learning” of Renaissance humanism. He served as protector of the Vatican Library and helped improve and expand its collection. Cervini served the Vatican at the time of its response to the Protestant Reformation. He was a president at the Council of Trent, which continued through his short pontificate.
He gained a reputation as a Church reformer and had hoped to pursue this path during his papacy. He was not consecrated a bishop until the day after he was elected pope.
Pope Marcellus reputedly became sick from overwork during the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter, and the illness turned fatal.
The Missa Papae Marcelli of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was composed in his honor.
Damasus II reigned for 24 days in July and August, 1048.
This pontiff was named Poppo. He was born in Bavaria and was of German extraction. He served as Bishop of Brixen in Tyrol, in what is now western Austria.
Popes at the time could be nominated in an unusual manner. Pope Damasus II was named by Holy Roman Emperor Henry III. The pope, however, soon died of malaria.
Pius III was pope for 27 calendar days, Sept. 22–Oct. 18, 1503.
He was born Francesco Todeschini in Siena. He was the nephew of Pope Pius II, a famous Renaissance-era pope. His uncle took him into his household and became his patron, allowing the young man to add the pontiff’s family name Piccolomini to his own last name.
Francesco studied canon law. His uncle named him to become administrator of the Archdiocese of Siena and later made him a cardinal-deacon.
The future Roman Pontiff had a reputation of living an upright life as a cultured, gentle man, the New Catholic Encyclopedia reports. He took part in several conclaves of his time, including that which elected Alexander VI.
His service to the papacy included several diplomatic appointments to Germany, France, and Perugia.
Francesco’s own papal election took place amid ruling Italian families’ disputes over control of Rome and included an unsuccessful power play by the Borgia family.
Pius III was known to be in poor health. At the time of the papal coronation he was already suffering from a diseased leg, which developed into a septic ulcer. He died at the age of 64.
Leo XI was pope for 27 days, from April 1–27, 1605.
The Florentine-born Alessandro de Medici was a member of the famous Medici family. He was grand-nephew to Pope Leo X. He sought to become a priest from an early age, but because his mother objected he was not ordained until after she died, according to the New Catholic Encyclopedia. He served as an ambassador to Rome on behalf of Tuscany, before he began to advance in the Church. He would eventually become a bishop, then archbishop of Florence, before being named a cardinal.
He served as a papal legate to France and was head of the Congregation of Bishops.
Among his great friends was St. Philip Neri, founder of the Oratorians.
He was elected pope at the age of 69 and became sick almost immediately.
Benedict V served as pope for 33 days, May 22–June 23, 964.
He was born in Rome and had a reputation for great learning.
He reigned at a time of great turmoil in the Church. Holy Roman Emperor Otto I had interfered with the pontificates of his predecessors. The emperor had forcibly deposed a pope and installed his own nominee on the See of Peter. There were rival claimants to the papacy under Benedict V and Otto again interfered, laying siege to Rome and taking the pope away from Rome by force. Benedict either renounced the papacy or was forcibly deposed. He lived in exile in Hamburg for another year.
John Paul I served as Roman Pontiff from Aug. 26–Sept. 28, 1978, 33 calendar days.
His beatification on Sept. 4 renewed attention to his life. He had a reputation for humility and for teaching the faith in an understandable way.
The future John Paul I took part in the Second Vatican Council and was named patriarch of Venice.
As a cardinal, Luciani published a collection of “open letters” to historic figures, saints, famous writers, and fictional characters. The book, “Illustrissimi,” included letters to Jesus, King David, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Christopher Marlowe, as well as Pinocchio and Figaro, the barber of Seville.
He was the first pope to have two names. He took his papal name from his immediate predecessors, Sts. John XXIII and Paul VI.
Cardinals participate in the fifth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on April 30, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Vatican City, Apr 30, 2025 / 19:07 pm (CNA).
The College of Cardinals announced Monday, … […]
11 Comments
To the Attention of the Pontiff Leo XIV, and the Vatican Bureaucratic Establishment, and the USCCB NGO:
It appears that you are recommending sleep-walking instead of standing up and speaking up like Christian people.
Recommendation: read this essay about the demonic violence stalking inside the Trojan Horse of your LGBTQ submission:
Also, the Pontiff Leo XIV, and the Vatican Bureaucratic Establishment, and the “Re-Paganized-Jesuit-Cult,” and the USCCB NGO, are corporately responsible for inviting this demonic desecration of St. Peter’s Basilica in your re-paganized “Jubilee”:
Martyrs are those who WILLINGLY sacrifice their lives. Those children murdered by that sexually confused psychotic are victims of a crime but not martyrs. Sometimes I think that it’s our Catholic Church that’s gone insane (and woke).
I totally agree!! I am Catholic. If some nut sees me going to Mass everyday and HATES Catholics decides to shoot me in the back as I walk home, what virtue of mine is involved? Answer: NONE. If that person stopped me and threatened my life with a gun unless I renounced my faith and I refused: then maybe a martyr. And it does greatly concern me that the Church makes these kinds of statements rather liberally that diminish the power of courage based on true faith that give us all role models to live by.
As an addend: I am not positive but have reason to believe, based upon their respective funeral services, those two children who died were not Catholic. I think one was Lutheran and the other a different faith. That does not diminish in any way the tragedy of their deaths.
Absolutely! We, as Americans, should pray fervently for those children in Minnesota who were murdered in Odium Fidei.
By definition, they are truly martyrs and their innocent souls are in Heaven.
Left almost speechless I can say this: Sentimentality occupying the place of reason abandoned does not cut the mustard. We saw this boldly exhibited during the last pontificate and it appears it has now become the pharmaceutical of choice.
We require a blistering intervention.
I’m certainly no expert on transgender issues or violent crimes, but I think it would be wise before drawing conclusions about mental instability and demonic influence leading to violent murderous acts by people who think they are transgender, to compare the actual percentage of trans people who plan and commit violent murderous acts with the actual percentage of non-trans people who plan and commit violent murderous acts.
And for that matter, we need to know the percentage of trans people who have never committed a violent murderous act and would be horrified at the thought of committing such an act.
I wouldn’t bet my farm on this, but I’m willing to guess that the PERCENTAGE of trans people with NO emotional or mental impairments who commit murderous acts would be similar to the PERCENTAGE of people who are NOT trans and have NO mental or emotional impairment who commit murderous acts. Perhaps the crime is committed as a result demonic influence, or perhaps it is just rage that lurks beneath the surface in straight and in LGBTQ+ people, as well as straight people.
Of course, there is also the question of whether transgenderism occurs strictly because of demonic influence–are there studies and stats about this? From what I have read, many transexuals were treated by a parent (often a single mother) as the opposite sex that they were born as. E.g. a single mother really wanted a girl, but she gave birth to a boy and decided from his birth that this child is really a girl and raises the child as a girl rather than a boy.
If anyone has a reliable authority who has published studies and statistics, I would be pleased to see a posting or a link to the studies. Thank you.
What percentage of people who believe they’re in the wrong body have no psychological or emotional issues? I’d be willing to bet my little farm that it’s 0.0%.
I think you are defending the indefensible here. People who think they are the opposite sex are psychologically disturbed individuals. Their degree of pathology varies somewhat, but the thinking and behavior are pathological nonetheless. At this point, it’s better to assume that transgender people are potentially dangerous than to err on the side of understanding.
To the Attention of the Pontiff Leo XIV, and the Vatican Bureaucratic Establishment, and the USCCB NGO:
It appears that you are recommending sleep-walking instead of standing up and speaking up like Christian people.
Recommendation: read this essay about the demonic violence stalking inside the Trojan Horse of your LGBTQ submission:
https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/gender-ideology-and-violence-cultural-confusion-and-the-spiritual-battle
Also, the Pontiff Leo XIV, and the Vatican Bureaucratic Establishment, and the “Re-Paganized-Jesuit-Cult,” and the USCCB NGO, are corporately responsible for inviting this demonic desecration of St. Peter’s Basilica in your re-paganized “Jubilee”:
https://x.com/LepantoInst/status/1964356537163370601
Martyrs are those who WILLINGLY sacrifice their lives. Those children murdered by that sexually confused psychotic are victims of a crime but not martyrs. Sometimes I think that it’s our Catholic Church that’s gone insane (and woke).
The Holy Innocents didn’t willingly sacrifice their lives.
I totally agree!! I am Catholic. If some nut sees me going to Mass everyday and HATES Catholics decides to shoot me in the back as I walk home, what virtue of mine is involved? Answer: NONE. If that person stopped me and threatened my life with a gun unless I renounced my faith and I refused: then maybe a martyr. And it does greatly concern me that the Church makes these kinds of statements rather liberally that diminish the power of courage based on true faith that give us all role models to live by.
As an addend: I am not positive but have reason to believe, based upon their respective funeral services, those two children who died were not Catholic. I think one was Lutheran and the other a different faith. That does not diminish in any way the tragedy of their deaths.
Absolutely! We, as Americans, should pray fervently for those children in Minnesota who were murdered in Odium Fidei.
By definition, they are truly martyrs and their innocent souls are in Heaven.
Left almost speechless I can say this: Sentimentality occupying the place of reason abandoned does not cut the mustard. We saw this boldly exhibited during the last pontificate and it appears it has now become the pharmaceutical of choice.
We require a blistering intervention.
What do the Vatican experts say about trying to prevent this type killing?
I’m certainly no expert on transgender issues or violent crimes, but I think it would be wise before drawing conclusions about mental instability and demonic influence leading to violent murderous acts by people who think they are transgender, to compare the actual percentage of trans people who plan and commit violent murderous acts with the actual percentage of non-trans people who plan and commit violent murderous acts.
And for that matter, we need to know the percentage of trans people who have never committed a violent murderous act and would be horrified at the thought of committing such an act.
I wouldn’t bet my farm on this, but I’m willing to guess that the PERCENTAGE of trans people with NO emotional or mental impairments who commit murderous acts would be similar to the PERCENTAGE of people who are NOT trans and have NO mental or emotional impairment who commit murderous acts. Perhaps the crime is committed as a result demonic influence, or perhaps it is just rage that lurks beneath the surface in straight and in LGBTQ+ people, as well as straight people.
Of course, there is also the question of whether transgenderism occurs strictly because of demonic influence–are there studies and stats about this? From what I have read, many transexuals were treated by a parent (often a single mother) as the opposite sex that they were born as. E.g. a single mother really wanted a girl, but she gave birth to a boy and decided from his birth that this child is really a girl and raises the child as a girl rather than a boy.
If anyone has a reliable authority who has published studies and statistics, I would be pleased to see a posting or a link to the studies. Thank you.
What percentage of people who believe they’re in the wrong body have no psychological or emotional issues? I’d be willing to bet my little farm that it’s 0.0%.
I think you are defending the indefensible here. People who think they are the opposite sex are psychologically disturbed individuals. Their degree of pathology varies somewhat, but the thinking and behavior are pathological nonetheless. At this point, it’s better to assume that transgender people are potentially dangerous than to err on the side of understanding.