The Community of Sant’Egidio, in Rome and around the world, will commemorate the “new martyrs” who gave their lives for the Gospel, in recent years, across the globe.

Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Tuesday March 22 at 6.30 p.m.

Presided over by Cardinal Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

 ROME -- As every year, in the heart of the Holy Week, the Community of Sant’Egidio will remember the many Christians who are made the object of persecution, discrimination, deprivation of religious freedom and of life, in many places in the world.  They will remember the victims by name and repeat the words of Pope Francis: “Today, in the twenty-first century, our Church is a Church of martyrs.”  This has been particularly recent in places such as Yemen, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Middle East.

 These are countries where the unarmed meekness and nonviolent witness of Christians is a scandal before violence, corruption and terror.  They are places where people die because they go to church, where Christian churches and schools are burnt, where you are threatened, intimidated or killed because they are teaching the young and opposing criminal gangs.

 The witnesses of the twenty-first century faith are the women and men who show us the power of resistance to evil up to the gift of life; Christians who have repeated the testimony of the Apostles: "We can not but speak of what we have seen and heard."

 The Community of Sant'Egidio will remember them with ecumenical prayers, to be attended by representatives of the Churches and Christian communities of all denominations. In Rome, in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, the celebration will be presided over by Card. Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

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