What does it mean to be devoted to Christ? It means giving Christ everything you have. Your heart, your soul, your time, your body, your emotions, your sins. The principle is the same for all followers and disciples of Christ. How that principle is applied is different for each unique induvial. Since the dawn of God’s interactions with humans recorded in the bible, various men and women have taken up their cross and followed Him through faith, hope and love trusting that he would guide us through this dark landscape of reality we are currently living in, to a better world where his light shines brightly without and darkness to hide it. Through the many years since the resurrection, Christians have all run the race of life differently. But what they all have in common is that they have decided to run the race. They have decided to live like a believer.

I’ve explored saints of each year, decade, and century in a series of articles that I have assembled together. Devoted Saints of Christ are not people who lived long ago in a land far far away. They are the people who walk among us alive and well today. The litany of holy men and women continues into our present time in the 21st century with these modern Saints, Blesseds, Venerables, Servants of God, and others who are noted for their remarkable holiness and commitment to Christ and his church. Let them be examples and encouragement for us all.

2000’s

Servant of God Gertrude A. Barber 
(September 16, 1911 – April 29, 2000) (aged 88)

She was an American educator and administrator who founded the Barber Center in 1952 to serve disabled children, adults, and families. A group of those who knew Dr. Barber formally appealed to Bishop Lawrence Persico of the Diocese of Erie to begin the cause for canonization.

Blessed  Maria Laura Mainetti
(August 20, 1939 –June 6, 2000)
All Blessed Saints Day 

Some kids can fully cooperate with evil. 21 years ago three girls led Sr. Maria Laura Mainetti on June 6, 2000 to a park in Chiavenna, Italy where they stabbed her to death in a Satanic ritual.  They had intended to stab her 18 times to form the number 666 but got in one extra stab ruining their devilish number. As the misguided girls committed the grizzly act of murder Sister Maria like St. Stephen and Our Lord himself said “Lord, Forgive Them.” On June 6, 2021 Sr. Maria was beatified by Pope Francis as a martyr for the faith. What the kids intended for evil ended up failing as God can always turn into good what Satan intends for evil.

“Among these guests today the Church recognizes the blessed martyr Maria Laura Mainetti. We all know the crucial hour of her life: while she was dying, she was forgiving. By forgiving, one is forgiven. At the end of her life, Sr. Maria Laura did so.”
-Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints,

Servant of God Ida Peterfy –
(October 7, 1922 –February 8, 2000)

 Ida Peterfy was raised in a devout Catholic family and was devoted to her faith at an early age. She was a member of the Sacred Heart League as well as the Hungarian Girl Scouts. Peterfy desired above all things to serve God and her neighbor.

As the horrors of World War II began to unfold, Peterfy and her family helped many Jews escape Nazi detection. She even had to break up with her boyfriend who revealed his anti-Semitic beliefs. She worked for many years teaching the faith to children and died on February 8, 2000. Her life has inspired countless people over the years, and on November 10, 2014, Dr. Waldery Hilgeman was approved by Archbishop José H. Gomez as Postulator for the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Sister Ida Peterfy. Currently they are gathering information about Sister Ida to then forward on to Rome.–Servant of God Ida Peterfy –Aleteia

Lord,
give me a burning love
that I may love You
and love my brothers and sisters for You.
Give me your never-ending divine love,
and I will go anywhere and everywhere
You want me to go.
Amen.
Servant of God Sister Ida Peterfy,

Servant of God  John Hardon 
(June 18, 1914 – December 30, 2000)

He was an American Jesuit priest, writer, teacher and theologian.

Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: The Lord’s Prayer
We live in an age when people are looking for digests to condense large amounts of knowledge into a small span of print. If we wish to capsulize all that Jesus taught, all that He stood for, and all that He wants us to do, we cannot find a better synthesis than what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is the only prayer that Christ taught directly to His apostles, and through them has been teaching the human race. It is an imminently practical synthesis of the faith, because it both tells us what to pray about and with emphasis, how we should pray.

Mother Maria Felix Torres
(August 25, 1907, – January 12, 2001)
Next To Be Blessed And Sainted

She was the founder of the Company of the Savior as well as the Mater Salvatoris Schools. She was born Albelda, Spain, in 1907 and died in Madrid in 2001.

She earned a degree in chemistry before founding her order, and was recently declared Venerable. A simple life of humble fidelity.-Mother Maria Felix: “I am His, totally and consciously His forever” (aleteia.org)

Contemplate our Lady,
the first in the Company of
the Saviour, saying and doing
«Fiat!», and devoting herself
entirely, perfectly, forever, to
the works of redemption, to the
divine plan of the supernatural
creation”.
(M. María Félix, C.S.)

Brother Marinus (Leonard) LaRue
(January 14, 1914 – October 14, 2001)
Korean War hero advanced on path to sainthood (aleteia.org)

Later known as “Brother Marinus”, was the skipper of the SS Meredith Victory, a United States Merchant Marine cargo freighter that was involved in the largest humanitarian rescue operation by a single ship in human history. Under LaRue’s leadership, the ship evacuated over 14,000 refugees to safety during the Hungnam evacuation, Korean War.

Captain Leonard LaRue joined St. Paul’s Abbey, the Benedictine monastery in Newton, New Jersey, in 1954, taking the name Brother Marinus. Marinus is a Latin word meaning “of the sea.” He faithfully worked and prayed at the monastery until his death in 2001.

Bishop Arthur Serratelli of  Paterson, N.J., opened Brother Marinus’ cause for canonization on March 25, 2019. Recently, the US bishops voted in the June 2021 assembly to advance the cause for the canonization of Brother Marinus.(aleteia.org)

Gereon Goldmann
(October 25, 1916 – July 26, 2003)
Remembering the Holy Men and Women of World War II

He was a German Franciscan priest, a World War II veteran of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, and a member of the German Resistance against Adolf Hitler.

On the surface, it would seem amazing that I ever became a priest. Although my parents were deeply religious and steadfast in maintaining not only an atmosphere of piety but the actuality of it as well, my early youth was such that only God could have made me a priest!

One day a Franciscan came from Japan and gave us a lecture. He also preached a sermon in the parish church about the wonderful land of the Orient. It excited my imagination as nothing had ever done before. After Mass, I went to the sacristy and asked him to take me along when he returned to Japan.

“Say one Hail Mary every day for that intention, and some day you will get to Japan. Will you promise that?”

That was not difficult, so I gave my promise and began to say a Hail Mary every night. I discovered on the very first night that this was not as easy as it seemed at first blush, for I fell asleep while praying. Disgusted with myself, the next night I said three, one for the one missed the first night, one for the present night, and one in case perhaps the Blessed Virgin Mary was as disgusted with me as I was with myself. After that, it was much easier, and I can’t recall that I ever again forgot or fell asleep. This was my first really independent step on the long road that finally led to the priesthood.

Matthew Stepanek
(July 17, 1990 – June 22, 2004, Aged 13
21 Young Saints and Their Companions  

He was an American author and motivational speaker. He published seven books of poetry and essays on peace, several of which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list before his death at the age of 13. He wanted to be remembered as “a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played.” On September 21, 2012, the feast day of Matthew the Apostle, the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Guild was officially initiated. The purpose of the guild is to gather information and investigate Stepanek’s life for the possible cause of canonization in the Catholic Church

Servant of God Maria Esperanza de Bianchini 
(November 22, 1928 – August 7, 2004)
Life of Servant of God Maria Esperanza de Bianchini –Aleteia

She  was a Venezuelan mystic, in Barrancas in the State of Monagas near the Orinoco River.

  Little children, give pause… the Lord repeats to you, “He who eats my Body and drinks my Blood shall be safe and sound, entering to dwell forever in the House of my Father! You are here to learn, and I fully enter into your hearts to model them and make them worthy of this, my Mystical Body..!  -Blessed Mother to Mrs. Maria Esperanza de Bianchini –June 21, 1987 4:30 p.m.

Venerable Lúcia dos Santos
(March 28, 1907 – February 13,2005)

She is also known as Lúcia of Fátima and by her religious name Maria Lúcia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart,^[1] was a Discalced Carmelite nun from Portugal. Sister Lúcia and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto claimed to have witnessed the apparitions of Our Lady of Fátima in 1917. Her beatification process was opened in 2017.

I thought of opening the New Testament, the only book I desire to have here in front of me, in this remote corner of the attic, lit by a single skylight, to which I withdraw whenever I can, in order to escape, as far as possible, from all human eyes. My lap serves as a table, and an old trunk as a chair. But, someone will say, why don’t you write in your cell? Our dear Lord has seen fit to deprive me even of a cell, although there are quite a few empty ones in the house … But I am glad and I thank God for the grace of having been born poor, and for living more poorly still for love of Him. … Very well then. I need no more than this: obedience and abandonment to God who works within me. I am truly no more than a poor and miserable instrument which He desires to use, and in a little while, like a painter who casts his now useless brush into the fire so that it may be reduced to ashes, the Divine Artist will Himself reduce His now useless instrument to the ashes of the tomb, until the great day of the eternal Alleluias. And I ardently desire that day, for the tomb does not annihilate everything, and the happiness of eternal and infinite love begins – now!
-Fourth Memoir (1941), in The Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words (2007), transl. by Dominican Nuns of Perpetual Rosary.

Father Joseph Walijewski  (aleteia.org)
(March 15, 1924- April 11, 2006)
On The Road To Blessed Sainthood 

Father Joe Walijewski, a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin and founder of the Casa Hogar orphanage in Peru had an action-packed life. From his days as an impressionable young boy in Michigan, where he discovered a unique call to the priesthood, to his daring adventures as a missionary in South America. A comic from Voyage Comics takes immerses readers into the heroic actions of this courageous Champion of the Poor which is a full-color comic book biography that tells his inspiring life story. – Voyage Comics

I do not know how long I will live.
But while I live, Lord, let me give
some comfort to someone in
need by smile or nod, kind
word, or deed.
And let me do whatever I can
to ease things for my fellow man.
I want naught but to do my part;
to “lift” a tired or weary heart,
to change folks’ frown,
to smile again.
Then I will not have lived in vain,
and I’ll not care how long I’ll live,
if I can give and give and give.
-Fr. Joe

Saint Pope John Paul II 
May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005)

 He was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history, after Pius IX and St. Peter.  He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, John Paul II beatified 1,344 people, and canonised 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. John Paul II has been credited with fighting against dictatorships and with helping to end communist rule in his native Poland and the rest of Europe.Und er John Paul II, the Catholic Church greatly expanded its influence in Africa and Latin America and retained its influence in Europe and the rest of the world. 

Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.
Encyclical Fides et Ratio, 14 September 1998
Source: www.vatican.va

Blessed Leonella Sgorbati
(December 9, 1940 –September 17, 2006)

She was an Italian religious sister of the Consolata Missionaries who served in the missions in both Kenya and in Somalia. She was murdered in Somalia not long after the Regensburg lecture of Pope Benedict XVI and after having worked on the continent for over three decades. Her main attention was on nursing and educating prospective nurses while she also tended to the needs of children in a children’s hospital that she frequented.

Eternal Father, who through your Holy Spirit, work in the midst of all peoples, regardless of their culture and their religion, look with mercy at humankind, often without peace and reluctant to forgive.

Through the intercession of the Servant of God Sr. Leonella Sgorbati, “faithful and joyful disciple of the Gospel” who bore witness with her blood to her love for you and for those mostly in need, grant us the favour we are asking and give us the joy to see her recognized as a martyr for the faith. We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord, model and origin of every martyrdom. Amen. –Sr. Leonella Sgorbati – Consolata Sisters

 Saint Carlo Acutis
(May 3, 1991 – October 12, 2006: Aged 15)
All Blessed Saints Day
21 Young Saints and Their Companions   
What Does A Saint Look Like?
The World Around Saints Pier And Carlos |

He was an English-born Italian Catholic teenager known for his devotion to the Eucharist and his use of digital media to promote Catholic devotion. Born in London and raised in Milan, he developed an early interest in computers and video games, teaching himself programming and web design and assisting his parish and school with digital projects.

Active in parish life, he served as a catechist and helped inspire several people to convert to Catholicism. He later created a website documenting Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions. He was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia and died at the age of fifteen. Since his death, his relics have been displayed in Assisi and his exhibitions on Eucharistic miracles have travelled worldwide.

“To always be united with Jesus, this is my life plan.”

Servant of God Ragheed Aziz Ganni, Syriac
(January 20, 1972 – June 3, 2007)
On The Road To Blessed Sainthood | Mark Wilson (patheos.com)

He was an Iraqi Chaldean Catholic priest. On 3 June 2007, Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost, he was killed along with three subdeacons including his cousin Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, and Gassan Isam Bidawed in front of Mosul‘s Holy Spirit Chaldean Church, where he was a parish priest.

I ask your forgiveness for not being with you when those criminals opened fire against you and your brothers. The bullets that have gone through your pure and innocent body have also gone through my heart and soul. Brother, your blood hasn’t been shed in vain, and your church’s altar wasn’t a masquerade. … You assumed your role with deep seriousness until the end, with a smile that would never be extinguished … ever. –A Muslim Friend’s Letter to Slain Father Ragheed

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s sister
Luciana Frassati Gawronska
(August 18, 1902 –October 7, 2007)
21 Young Saints and Their Companions  OCTOBER 09, 2020

She was an Italian writer and author. Gawronska was a prominent anti-Nazi and anti-fascist activist in both Poland and Italy and was considered a champion of Catholic causes.

Frassati’s older brother was Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died of polio in 1925. Her brother was formally beatified as “Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati” by Pope John Paul II on 20 May 1990, and canonized by Pope Leo XIV on 7 September 2025.

Audrey Santo   
(December 19, 1983 – April 14, 2007)

Often referred to as Little Audrey, She was a young girl from Worcester, Massachusetts, through whom miracles were purported to have happened after she suffered severe brain damage in a near-drowning accident.

Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui
(June 13, 1981 — July 8, 2007)

He was a Congolese customs worker who was murdered for refusing a bribe to allow the import of rancid rice from Rwanda into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was a member of the Community of Sant’Egidio.

Pope Leo XIV, during the Sunday Angelus, praised the young martyr with these words: “He was killed at 26 for resisting injustice and defending the poor. May his witness bring hope to the youth of Congo and all of Africa.” Vatican News

Servant of God Chiara Lubich
(January 22, 1920,– March 14, 2008)
All Kinds of Saints Day

She was an Italian teacher and author who founded the Focolare Movement, which aims to bring unity among people and promote universal family.

She was a charismatic figure who broke with many female stereotypes as early as the 1940s, opening a previously unheard of role for women in society and the Roman Catholic Church.

Lubich is considered a notable figure in ecumenical, interreligious and intercultural dialogue, as recognized by UNESCO, which awarded her the Prize for Peace Education in 1996; and the Council of Europe, with the Human Rights Award in 1998; among others.

She took her place in the history of contemporary spirituality among teachers and mystics for the authentic Gospel-based inspiration, universal outlook, and cultural and social influence that distinguish her charism, spirituality, and work.

Yes, because the pen does not know what the author wants to write … So, when God takes a person in his hands to produce a particular work within the Church, that person does not know what he or she will have to do. They are merely the tool, the instrument … When this life started in Trento, I had no plan, no program. The idea of this Movement was in the mind of God, the project was in heaven. That’s how it was in the beginning, and that’s how it has been over all the years the Movement has developed.^[32]

Servant of God Marcelo Henrique Câmara
(June 28, 1979 – March 20, 2008)

He was a Brazilian lawyer, public prosecutor and university professor who died at the age of 28 with a reputation for holiness. He was a supernumerary member of Opus Dei. Currently. A faithful Catholic, at the time he was a university student he actively participated in the Emmaus Movement and later asked for admission to Opus Dei as a supernumerary. After four years of battling lymphoblastic lymphoma (Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma), he passed away in 2008.

Servant of God Pierangelo Capuzzimati
(June 28, 1990 – April 30, 2008

The Servant of God Pierangelo Capuzzimati was a young Italian who from the age of 14 suffered from leukemia but lived with strong faith and a deep trust in God. He was born in Taranto, Italy, in 1990 and grew up in a peaceful environment with his family in Faggiano.

His illness, far from plunging him into despair, led him to intensify his spiritual life, devoting his time to prayer, study, and contemplation of the beauty of creation.

An admirer of the thought of the saints and with a great passion for the history of the Church, his testimony of serenity and dedication left an indelible mark on those who knew him. He died on April 30, 2008, at the age of 17 with the conviction that his suffering was a gift from the Lord. A new generation of saints? 6 millennials on the road to canonization | Catholic News Agency

Tom Vander Woude
(April 24, 1942 – September 8, 2008)

On September 8, 2008, Tom Vander Woude gave his life to save his son Joseph, who had fallen into a septic tank. Without hesitation, Tom jumped in after him, lifting his son so he could breathe.

This selfless act of fatherly love exemplifies Christ’s teaching that “No greater love has a man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). Tom Vander Woude Guild

Venerable Matteo Farina: Age 18
(September 19, 1990 –April 24, 2009)
Catholic Bard Black Friday Special: More Saints

Venerable Guido Schäffer
(May 22, 1974 –May 1, 2009)
On The Road To Blessed Sainthood

2010’s

Servant of God Darwin Ramos 
(December 17, 1994 – September 23, 2012)
Catholic Bard Black Friday Special: More Saints

Servant of God Darwin was a Filipino street child affected by and died from Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

He discovered Catholic faith when he was 11 years old. Darwin Ramos could become the first non-martyr Saint of the Philippines.

Brother Pedro Manuel Salado de Alba
(1968 -2012)
On The Road To Blessed Sainthood

Brother Pedro Manuel Salado de Alba, who died in Ecuador in 2012 after saving seven children from drowning in the ocean is up for beautification.

Servant of God Akash Bashir
(June 22, 1994 – March 15, 2015)

He was a Pakistani layman and a former student of the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Lahore, Pakistan. In December 2014, he joined the security team in charge of protecting the Church of Saint John in Lahore, in the predominantly Christian neighborhood of Youhanabad. On Sunday, 15 March 2015, he blocked a suicide bomber who was about to enter the church. The bomber detonated his bomb outside the church, killing both of them.

Servant of God Chiara Corbella Chiara Corbella Petrillo
(January 9, 1984 – June 13, 2012)

She was an Italian Catholic public speaker and a mother known for her faith amidst her battle with cancer.

“To discover that you are loved is the center of all existence. And when we are filled with this total and delirious love, little by little, we grow and love in turn. That gradualness in our journeys is a sign of the infinite tenderness of God.”
― Simone Troisi, Chiara Corbella Petrillo

21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya 
Died: February 15, 2015

Between December 2014 and January 2015, 21 men were kidnapped, held captive and tortured by ISIS terrorists in Libya. They were given a chance to obtain freedom by converting to Islam, but all of them refused to renounce Christianity. Eventually, they were beheaded on a Libyan beach, and their brutal execution was filmed and published by ISIS in a 5-minute video

The victims, all but one members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, were formally declared martyrs and saints in February 2015 by Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria. In 2023, Pope Francis announced that the 21 Christian men murdered by IS would also be commemorated by the Catholic Church and listed within the Roman Martyrology in what was described as a major ecumenical decision. The martyrs are commemorated on 15 February (civil calendar) in both Christian denominations. A film titled The 21 was released in 2024 to commemorate them.

Servant of God Michelle Duppong
(January 25, 1984 – December 25, 2015)

On December 29, 2014, Michelle was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer while serving as the Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Bismarck. Before that, Duppong had served as a FOCUS missionary for six years. She battled the disease with perseverance and a docile spirit until December 25, 2015, when she passed away at the age of 31. On November 1^st, 2022, Bishop David Kagan celebrated the Opening Mass for the Cause of Canonization. –Servant of God Michelle Duppong Guild – Bismarck, ND

Sr. Clare Crockett
(November 14, 1982 –April 16, 2016)
On The Road To Blessed Sainthood | Mark Wilson (patheos.com)

Clare Crockett’s goal was to become a Hollywood star. She was a party girl interested in beer and hooking up with boys. That is until God transformed her life at 17. She eventually became Sr. Clare Crockett. She was part of the community of Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother that was headquartered in Valencia, Spain. She served in various places including Jacksonville, Florida and became a missionary sister in Ecuador.  On April 16, 2016, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador, killing at least 676 people, including Sr. Clare Crockett.

Two years later her order released a film about her remarkable life in both English and Spanish. “All or Nothing: Sr. Clare Crockett” now has more than 3.5 million views on YouTube.  Just this month the nun responsible for the movie Sr. Kristen Gardner released a book on September 8, 2020 about her life  called “Sr. Clare Crockett: Alone with Christ Alone” .

Already reports of miracles are being reported to her community including fertility miracles attributed to Sr. Clare’s intercession.  I hope that reports of miracles continue to pour in, as I and probably many others would like to see her canonized. She is a very inspiring soul who I hope more people learn about.

She is the Patron Heavenly Companion of the Catholic Bard.

Honestly, the vocation to the religious life is such a great gift that it confuses the person chosen. God fixes His gaze on a poor soul so that she can live with Him and in Him, and in that way help Him save the world. That really is crazy… but, blessed craziness! We would be crazy if we did not respond to what God asks of each one of us, because what He asks is the best for us. We have been created for great things, not for comfort.- Sister Clare Crockett.

According to Wikipedia

Healings and fertility miracles have been attributed to her after people prayed for her intercession and there have been calls for her to be made a saint. Usually a beatification process doesn’t begin until at least 5 years^[31] after a person’s death. In January 2021 her order said that they have begun “to take steps in view of opening the cause” of her beatification, but that it also depends on the local ecclesial authorities in Ecuador, as set out in the Catholic Church’s relevant document, Sanctorum Mater.

Sister Cecilia María of the Holy Face
(December 5, 1973 – June 22, 2016)

Sister Cecilia María of the Holy Face, a Carmelite nun from Neuquén, Argentina, was remembered for her smile and her testimony of love and trust in Jesus Christ. She passed away from cancer in 2016 at the age of 43. Her life and death have inspired many, and her intercession is being considered for canonization. The archbishop of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz has signed the edict to begin the preliminary process for her canonization, which includes a call for the faithful to share information about her life and writings. The edict will be published in various locations and media, and the process will continue with the diocesan investigation into her virtues. –Catholic News Agency 

Servant of God Helena Kmieć 
(February 9, 1991 – January 24, 2017)

She was a Polish Catholic missionary who was awarded the Polish Gold Cross of Merit. On January 8, 2017, together with Anita Szuwald, she went on a mission to Bolivia, where she planned to help the Servant Sisters of Dębica in an orphanage in Cochabamba until June.^[She died on the night of  January 24–25, 2017, stabbed during an assault on the facility. In March 2018, a Bolivian court sentenced her killer, Romualdo Mamio dos Santos, to 30 years in prison.

2020’s

Annunciation Catholic Church shooting
Harper Moyski (10)  Fletcher Merkel (8)
August 27, 2025

Vatican experts said on Monday that the two children killed in last month’s shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic 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.”

Vatican experts say Minneapolis shooting victims could qualify as ‘new martyrs’ | Catholic News Agency