Pope Leo XIV holds private audience with conference participants

Pope Leo XIV held a private audience on Sept. 16 with participants of a conference regarding modern Christian martyrs to conclude the event in Rome. The conference, titled "The 21st Century: A New Time of Martyrs?", took place from Sept. 15–16 at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum.

Organized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the gathering discussed the Commission for New Martyrs – Witnesses of the Faith. This ecumenical initiative was established by Pope Francis in 2023 to document Christians of all denominations killed for their faith since 2000. Participants discussed various cases, including Sister Dorothy Stang, an American nun killed in Brazil in 2005 while serving in the Amazon.

In his address, Pope Leo XIV said the evangelizing strength of these witnesses is one of the Church's greatest resources for proclaiming the Gospel. He noted that these individuals show a faith lived out in everyday life rather than proposing an ideology. The pope also praised the work of the dicastery in cataloging the lives of those killed for their faith.