Just before Pope Francis canonizes the martyrs of Damascus on October 20, Father Luke Gregory, patriarch of the Holy Land, said their testimony is a sign of hope and Christian unity for Christians around the world, especially in Syria, where Christians are only 2%.
Vatican News
On the night of July 9, 1860, eleven people (eight Franciscan friars and three Maronite laymen, known collectively as the Eleven Martyrs of Damascus) were murdered and Pope Pius XI beatified them in 1926. More than 160 years after their death , Pope Francis will canonize him on October 20 during a solemn mass in the courtyard of St. Peter’s Basilica.
In an interview with Vatican News, Franciscan Father Luke Gregory, patriarch of the Holy Land, called her canonization a sign of hope amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Martyrdom: a message of Christian unity
The martyrdom he suffered is not very different from the situation of many Christians in the Middle East today.
Damascus, Syria, is home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, but only 2% of the population still professes this religion. Christians have faced persecution in Syria for the past decade, following the country’s civil war that began in 2011.
The eleven people will be declared saints, even though they come from different Catholic traditions. In 2023, Pope Francis established the “Commission of New Martyrs – Witnesses of the Faith” to list Christians who have died for their faith in Christ. Through the commission, several non-Catholic Christians have also been included in the list of martyrs, including Coptic Christians killed in Libya.
sign of hope
Father Gregory said that for Christians in the Middle East, reflecting on the lives of these people is “a sign of hope because after the bloodshed comes a new spring.”
He said the Franciscans, custodians of the Holy Land, hope that the intercession of these martyrs will end the conflict in Israel, Palestine and other parts of the Middle East.
Father Gregory said he hoped his example and canonization would open a new path of dialogue between different religious groups and help achieve peace. “The whole world will be watching the canonization,” he said, adding that he hoped it would “stimulate conversation.”
Place of pilgrimage and prayer.
Father Gregory explained that in Batumah there is a shrine in honor of the 11 men, adding that “it is being renovated and opened to the public.”
In July 2024, five large canvases containing images of the martyrs were discovered, dating from 1926, when they were beatified. Father Gregory expressed his hope that once the conflict in the Middle East is over, pilgrimages to the Holy Land can resume and more people can visit the site of these martyrs of Damascus.
