St Egidio: memory of the modern martyrs

(Vatican Radio) The memory of the modern martyrs, killed for their Christian faith over the past century, will be honoured on Tuesday evening at an ecumenical prayer service here in Rome and in other churches across Italy and beyond. The initiative, spearheaded by the lay Catholic St Egidio community, aims to highlight the difficulties and discrimination that many Christians still face in countries around the world today as they try and witness to their faith.
Just ahead of the year 2000, Pope John Paul II called for a commission to investigate the lives and legacy of these new Christian martyrs and since that date the Rome church of St Bartholomew on the Tiber island has become the focal point for this annual Holy Week celebration. Six chapels around the church contain objects, letters and personal possessions recalling the witness of men and women from different Christian traditions who have laid down their lives for their faith.
Among the St Egidio members who worked on that commission and studied its impact on ecumenical relations is Monica Attias – she talked to Philippa Hitchen about the importance of sharing the memory of these modern day martyrs ...
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