Martyrs

Stephen

St Stephen was the first Christian martyr. According to The Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was tried for blasphemy and for speaking against the Jewish Temple and the law of the land. In Acts 6-7, it describes how he was cast out of the city and stoned to death. Stephen is venerated as a saint in many Christian demonstrations. In Western Christianity, December 26th is "St. Stephen's Day."

Justin 

. . . was born into a Greek-speaking pagan family and educated in Greek philosophy. As he was walking along the beach at Ephesus, he began walking with a stranger who told him about Christ. He was immediately interested and became a Christian. He went to Rome and spoke out to defend Christianity. As a result, he was charged with disloyalty. A group brought charges against him and six of his students. They were given the opportunity to recant their faith but refused and were put to death.

Ignatius of Loyola 

. . . was born into a noble Basque family. He led an ordinary life until he was seriously wounded in battle. While convalescing, he experienced a profound spiritual awakening, which he began to share with others. Since he was not schooled in the church, his work was suspect. He and several companions took vows of strict poverty, laying the foundation for the Society of Jesus.

Polycarp 

. . . was one of the leaders of the Church who carried on the tradition of the apostles through the troubled period of the second century. He had been a pupil of John. Polycarp courageously witness to Christ at Smyrna. He was asked to curse Christ. Polycarp politely refused. The proconsul was reluctant to throw such a gentle person to the wild beasts, so had him burned at the stake. Polycarp glorified Christ on this funeral pyre.

Perpetua and Felicitas and their companions 

Perpetua was a young widow, mother of an infant, and owner of several slaves, including Felicitas—all catechumens preparing for baptism. The emperor required all to declare the emperor divine which the women could not do. The women were arrested and held in prison. Perpetua had a vision that convinced her she should remain steadfast. All were put to death by a sword through the throat. The soldier who struck Perpetua is said to have been inept, severely wounding her so Perpetua guided his hand.

Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley

Cranmer was the principal figure in the Reformation of the English church and primarily responsible for the first Book of Common Prayer 1549 and its first revision. At the changeover of the English crown, Cranmer was arrested, recanted, then recanted his recanting, and was subsequently burned.

Nicholas Ridley was friend to Archbishop Cranmer and supporter of his views. He too was arrested in the conflict that imprisoned Thomas Cranmer. He too was imprisoned and burned at the stake.

Hugh Latimer was the third of the trio imprisoned and burned at the stake. He had been an outstanding preacher during the Reformation but his sermons were labeled heresy.

Maksymilian Kolbe

Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe joined the Franciscan Conventuals and went to Rome to study. He founded the sodality of the Militia of Mary Immaculate, thus making a significant contribution to the international Marian movement. Returning to Poland, he established the popular Roman Catholic periodical Rycerz Niepokalanej (“The Knight of Mary Immaculate”) and in 1927 founded the City of Mary Immaculate (Niepokalanów), a religious centre, that eventually attracted some 700 friars and workers. A fervent advocate of devotion to the Virgin Mary’s cult, he later founded sister institutions in Japan and India. Kolbe became superior of the City of Mary Immaculate and director of Poland’s chief Catholic publishing complex. For his anti-Nazism he was arrested by the Gestapo; released, again arrested on charges of aiding Jews and the Polish underground. He was imprisoned at Warsaw and then shipped to Auschwitz, where he volunteered his life in the place of the condemned inmate Franciszek Gajowniczek. First starved, he was finally injected with phenol and cremated.