A diocesan priest and 10 of his companions, as well as four lay companions, killed in hatred of the faith in Laos in the 1950s and ’60s, have been recognized as martyrs by Pope Francis.
Friday afternoon, the Holy Father received in private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. During the meeting, the Pope authorized the congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Miracles:
– attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Francesco de Paola Victor, Brazilian diocesan priest (1827-1905)
– attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Klara Ludwika Szczęsna, Polish co-founder of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (1863-1916)
Martyrdom:
– Servant of God Frederic de Berga (né Martí Tarrés Puigpelat) and 25 companions, Spanish priests and lay brothers of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, killed in hatred of the faith in 1936
– Servant of God Joseph Thao Tiên, diocesan priest, and ten companions, professed priests of the Society of the Paris Foreign Missions and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and four lay companions, killed in hatred of the faith in Laos between 1954 and 1970
Heroic Virtue:
– Servant of God Antonino Celona, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Handmaids of Reparation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1873-1952)
– Servant of God Ottorino Zanon, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Pious Society of St. Cajetan (1915-1972)
– Servant of God Marcello Labor, Italian diocesan priest (1890-1954)
– Servant of God Maria Antonia of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (née Rachele Lalia), Italian founder of the Dominican Sisters of St. Sisto Vecchio (1839-1914)
