List of Christian martyrs
Encyclopedia
Since its earliest days, hundreds of thousands of Christians have been killed for their faith. As such, this list can never be fully complete, and includes only the most notable martyrs.
(Note: John the Evangelist
according to legend was cooked in boiling hot oil but survived. He was the only one of the original twelve Apostles who was not martyred).
Reformation
Joseph Smith, Jr., 1844
Apostolic Age—1st century
- Saint StephenSaint StephenSaint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
, Protomartyr, was stoned c. 34 AD. - James the Great (Son of ZebedeeZebedeeZebedee is a name which may refer to:-People:* Zebedee , father of James and John* Zebedee Armstrong , an American outsider artist...
) was beheadedDecapitationDecapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
in 44 AD. - Philip the ApostlePhilip the ApostlePhilip the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who preached in Greece, Syria, and Phrygia....
was crucified in 54 AD. - Matthew the EvangelistMatthew the EvangelistMatthew the Evangelist was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists.-Identity:...
killed with a halberdHalberdA halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. Possibly the word halberd comes from the German words Halm , and Barte - in modern-day German, the weapon is called Hellebarde. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on...
in 60 AD. - James the JustJames the JustJames , first Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in 62 AD, was an important figure in Early Christianity...
, beaten to death with a club after being crucified and stoned. - MatthiasSaint MatthiasMatthias , according to the Acts of the Apostles, was the apostle chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas' betrayal of Jesus and his suicide.-Biography:...
was stoned and beheaded. - Saint AndrewSaint AndrewSaint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
, St. Peter's brother, was crucified. - Saint MarkMark the EvangelistMark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
the Evangelist, was dragged in the streets of AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
then beheaded - Saint PeterSaint PeterSaint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, crucified upside-downCross of St. PeterThe Cross of St. Peter or Petrine Cross is an inverted Latin cross traditionally used as a Christian symbol, but in recent times also used widely as an anti-Christ symbol .-In Christianity:The origin of this symbol comes from the Catholic tradition that Simon Peter was crucified upside...
. - Apostle PaulPaul of TarsusPaul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, beheaded in Rome. - Saint JudeSaint JudeJude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus...
was crucified. - Saint Bartholomew flayed alive and crucified.
- Thomas the ApostleThomas the ApostleThomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
was killed by a spear in Mylapore, Madras, India in AD 72. - Luke the EvangelistLuke the EvangelistLuke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
was hanged. - Simon the ZealotSimon the ZealotThe apostle called Simon Zelotes, Simon the Zealot, in Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13; and Simon Kananaios or Simon Cananeus , was one of the most obscure among the apostles of Jesus. Little is recorded of him aside from his name...
was crucified in 74 AD. - Antipas of Pergamum, according to tradition, roasted to death in a brazen bullBrazen bullThe brazen bull, bronze bull, or Sicilian bull, was a torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece. Its inventor, metal worker Perillos of Athens, proposed it to Phalaris, the tyrant of Akragas, Sicily, as a new means of executing criminals. The bull was made entirely of bronze, hollow,...
during the persecutions of Emperor DomitianDomitianDomitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
, c. 92 A. D.
(Note: John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
according to legend was cooked in boiling hot oil but survived. He was the only one of the original twelve Apostles who was not martyred).
Age of Martyrdom—2nd to 4th centuries
- Saint AfraSaint AfraSaint Afra was a Christian martyr. Her actual existence is not mentioned until the 5th century martyrologies, giving her dubious historicity.-Biography:...
c.304 at Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. - Ignatius of AntiochIgnatius of AntiochIgnatius of Antioch was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop of Antioch, and was a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology...
in 107 AD. - Saint Januarius of NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy in 305 AD. - Justin MartyrJustin MartyrJustin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
of Palestine in 165 AD. - OrigenOrigenOrigen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
of Alexandria, about 250 AD. - Perpetua and Felicity of CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
in 202 AD. - Saint Philomena of CorfuCorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, Greece (died in Rome) about 305 AD. - PolycarpPolycarpSaint Polycarp was a 2nd century Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him...
of Smyrna, probably around 160 AD. - The Martyrs of Scili (in North Africa, about 180 AD) The Passio Sanctorum Scilitanorum is regarded as the oldest Christian text in the Latin language.
- Saint AlbanSaint AlbanSaint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain. Alban is listed in the Church of England calendar for 22 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox...
, Britain in c.283 AD. - Forty Martyrs of SebasteForty Martyrs of SebasteThe Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty were a group of Roman soldiers in the Legio XII Fulminata whose martyrdom in 320 for the Christian faith is recounted in traditional martyrologies.They were killed near Sebaste, in Lesser Armenia, victims of the persecutions of Licinius,...
, died in what is now ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
under the Roman Imperial persecutions of 320 AD. - Saint GeorgeSaint GeorgeSaint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
, died in the Diocletianic Persecution in 303. - Saint AgnesSaint AgnesAgnes of Rome is a virgin–martyr, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism. She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass...
, died in the Diocletianic Persecution in 304. - Saint Vincent of Saragossa, died in the Diocletianic Persecution in 304.
- Saint BehnamSaint Behnam-Life according to Syriac tradition:According to Syriac tradition, he was born in the 4th century to Sencharib, an Assyrian pagan king of Athur. He met with Mattai the hermit who lived in a monastery during a hunting trip...
of AssyriaAssyriaAssyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
, Iraq - Saint Lucy/Lucia, martyred in Syracuse for refusing to marry a pagan suitor. Became the patron saint of the blind
Middle Ages—5th to 15th centuries
- Valentine and EngratiaSaint FructusSaint Fructus was a Castilian hermit of the eighth century venerated as a saint. Christian tradition states that he had two siblings, named Valentine and Engratia . They all lived as hermits on a mountain in the region of Sepúlveda...
, ca. 715, HermitHermitA hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
martyrs of SegoviaSegoviaSegovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:... - Ludmila of Bohemia, 921
- King Edward the Martyr, 979
- Jovan VladimirJovan VladimirJovan Vladimir or John Vladimir was ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the First Bulgarian Empire...
, 1014 - Stanislaus of SzczepanówStanislaus of SzczepanówStanislaus of Szczepanów, or Stanisław Szczepanowski, was a Bishop of Kraków known chiefly for having been martyred by the Polish king Bolesław II the Bold...
, 1079 - Thomas BecketThomas BecketThomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
, 1170 - Tsar Lazar, 1389
- John Huss (Jan Huss), 1415
- Jerome of PragueJerome of PragueJerome of Prague was one of the chief followers and most devoted friends of John Hus.-Biography:...
, 1416 - Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
(Jeanne d'Arc), 1431, burned at the stake.
ReformationProtestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
Era—16th century
- Diego Botello, Spanish missionary in the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, 1516 - Fernando Salzedo, Spanish missionary in the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, 1516 - Jan de BakkerJan de BakkerJan Jansz de Bakker van Woerden was a Roman Catholic priest who was the first preacher in the Northern Netherlands to be martyred as a direct result of his Protestant beliefs.-Biography:Jan de Bakker's father was a sexton in Woerden and also tenant of the brickworks, and...
, 1525, burned at the stake. - Felix ManzFelix ManzFelix Manz was a co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, and the first martyr of the Radical Reformation.-Birth and life:...
, 1527 - Patrick HamiltonPatrick Hamilton (martyr)Patrick Hamilton was a Scottish churchman and an early Protestant Reformer in Scotland. He travelled to Europe, where he met several of the leading reforming thinkers, before returning to Scotland to preach...
, 1528 - George BlaurockGeorge BlaurockJörg vom Haus Jacob , commonly known as George Blaurock , with Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz, was co-founder of the Swiss Brethren in Zürich, and thereby one of the founders of Anabaptism.George Blaurock was born in 1491 in Bonaduz in the Grisons, Switzerland...
, 1529 - St Thomas MoreThomas MoreSir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
, 1535, executed in Tower of LondonTower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space... - St John FisherJohn FisherSaint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints...
, 1535 - William TyndaleWilliam TyndaleWilliam Tyndale was an English scholar and translator who became a leading figure in Protestant reformism towards the end of his life. He was influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus, who made the Greek New Testament available in Europe, and by Martin Luther...
, 1535 - Carthusian MartyrsCarthusian MartyrsThe Carthusian Martyrs were a group of monks of the London Charterhouse, the monastery of the Carthusian Order in central London, who were put to death by the English state from June 19, 1535 to September 20, 1537. The method of execution was hanging, disembowelling while still alive and then...
, 1535–1537 - St. Arthur of Glastonbury, 1539
- Margaret PoleMargaret Pole, 8th Countess of SalisburyMargaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury was an English peeress, one of two women in sixteenth-century England to be a peeress in her own right with no titled husband, the daughter of George of Clarence, the brother of King Edward IV and King Richard III...
, 1541 - Juan de la Cruz, Spanish missionary to New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 1542 - Luis de Escalona, Spanish missionary to New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 1542 - Juan de PadillaJuan de PadillaFather Juan de Padilla , born in Andalusia, was a Spanish Roman Catholic missionary who spent much of his life exploring North America with Francisco Vasquez de Coronado....
, Spanish missionary to New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 1542 - Anne AskewAnne AskewAnne Askew was an English poet and Protestant who was condemned as a heretic...
, 1546 - George WishartGeorge WishartGeorge Wishart was a Scottish religious reformer and Protestant martyr.He belonged to a younger branch of the Wisharts of Pitarrow near Montrose. He may have graduated M.A., probably at King's College, Aberdeen, and was certainly a student at the University of Leuven, from which he graduated in 1531...
, 1546 - Matthew HammondMatthew HammondMatthew Hammond was a plough-wright from Hetherset, Norfolk, England. He was a Unitarian. On May 19, 1579, his ears were cut off and the following day, on May 20, 1579, he was burned to death at Norwich by the bishop...
, 1549 - Hugh LatimerHugh LatimerHugh Latimer was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, Bishop of Worcester before the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555, under Queen Mary, he was burnt at the stake, becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism.-Life:Latimer was born into a...
, 1555 - Nicholas RidleyNicholas Ridley (martyr)Nicholas Ridley was an English Bishop of London. Ridley was burned at the stake, as one of the Oxford Martyrs, during the Marian Persecutions, for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey...
, 1555 - Rowland TaylorRowland TaylorRowland Taylor was an English Protestant martyr during the Marian Persecutions....
, 1555 - John HooperJohn HooperJohn Hooper, Johan Hoper, was an English churchman, Anglican Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester. A Protestant Reformer, he was killed during the Marian Persecutions.-Biography:...
, 1555 - John Rogers, 1555
- William HunterWilliam Hunter (Protestant martyr)William Hunter was a Marian martyr burnt to death in Brentwood at the age of 19 on March 27, 1555 on Ingrave Road. He had lost his job in London as a silk-weaver because he refused to attend the Catholic mass, despite an order that everyone in the City of London had to attend, and had come to live...
, 1555 - Lawrence Saunders, 1555
- Thomas CranmerThomas CranmerThomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
, 1556 - Dirk WillemsDirk WillemsDirk Willems was a martyred Anabaptist who is most famous for turning around to rescue his pursuer, who had fallen through thin ice while chasing Willems after his escape from prison, to then be tortured and killed for his faith.-Life:...
, 1569 - St Edmund CampionEdmund CampionSaint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
, 1581 - Margaret BallMargaret BallBlessed Margaret Ball was born Margaret Birmingham near Skryne in County Meath, and died of deprivation in the dungeons of Dublin Castle. She was the wife of the Mayor of Dublin in 1553. She was beatified in 1992.-Early life:...
, 1584 - The Forty Martyrs of England and WalesForty Martyrs of England and WalesThe Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679...
, various dates
Modern Era—17th to 21st centuries
- Martyrs of JapanMartyrs of JapanThe refers to a group of Christians who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597 at Nagasaki. Their martyrdom is especially significant in the history of Roman Catholicism in Japan....
- Kakure KirishitanKakure Kirishitanis a modern term for a member of the Japanese Catholic Church that went underground after the Shimabara Rebellion in the 1630s.-History:Kakure Kirishitans are called the "hidden" Christians because they continued to practice Christianity in secret. They worshipped in secret rooms in private homes...
- Francis TaylorFrancis Taylor (martyr)Blessed Francis Taylor was a Mayor of Dublin, Ireland, incarcerated because of his Catholicism....
, 1621 - Vietnamese MartyrsVietnamese MartyrsThe Vietnamese Martyrs, also known as the Martyrs of Tonkin, Martyrs of Annam , Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions , or Martyrs of Indochina, are saints on the Roman Catholic calendar of saints canonized by Pope John Paul II...
1625 - 1886 - Magdalene of NagasakiMagdalene of Nagasakiwas born in 1611 as the daughter of a Christian couple martyred about 1620. With the arrival of the Augustinian Order, Magdalene served as an Augustinian lay sister or tertiary, interpreter and catechist for Fathers Francis of Jesus Terrero and Vincent of Saint Anthony Simoens.In 1632, these two...
1634 - Lorenzo RuizLorenzo RuizSaint Lorenzo Ruiz , also known as San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, is the first Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church...
, 1637 - Canadian MartyrsCanadian MartyrsThe North American Martyrs, also known as the Canadian Martyrs or the Martyrs of New France, were eight Jesuit missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, who were martyred in the mid-17th century in Canada, in what are now southern Ontario and upstate New York, during the warfare between the...
, North American Martyrs, 1642–1649 - Arthur Bell, 1643
- Isaac JoguesIsaac JoguesIsaac Jogues was a Jesuit priest, missionary, and martyr who traveled and worked among the native populations in North America. He gave the original European name to Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement, Lake of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1646, Jogues was martyred by the Mohawks near ...
, 1646 (French Jesuit in New York killed by Indians) - John de Britto, 1647-1693, born in Portugal and beheaded in India
- Francis Ferdinand de CapillasFrancis Ferdinand de CapillasFrancis Ferdinand de Capillas O.P. was a Castilian Christian missionary to China. He was the first Roman Catholic martyr killed in China...
(DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
missionary to China), 1648 - King Charles ICharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, beheaded after the Second Civil War - 1649 - Diego Luis de San VitoresDiego Luis de San VitoresBlessed Diego Luis de San Vitores was a Spanish Jesuit missionary who founded the first Catholic church on the island of Guam. He is responsible for establishing the Spanish presence in the Mariana Islands.-Early life:...
and Pedro CalungsodPedro CalungsodBlessed Pedro Calungsod is a Filipino Roman Catholic martyr who was killed while doing missionary work in Guam in 1672. He was beatified on March 5, 2000, by Pope John Paul II. As a skilled sacristan and teacher of cathecism, he was a companion of Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores to the Marianas...
, 1672 - Feodosia MorozovaFeodosia MorozovaFeodosia Prokopiyevna Morozova was one of the best-known partisans of the Old Believer movement.She was born on May 21, 1632 into a family of the okolnichi Prokopy Feodorovich Sokovnin. At the age of 17, she was married to the boyar Gleb Morozov, brother to the tsar's tutor Boris Morozov...
(Old Believer), 1675 - Oliver PlunkettOliver PlunkettSaint Oliver Plunkett was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland....
, 1681 - Felipe SongsongFelipe SongsongPhelippe Songsong was a Filipino Jesuit. He was born to a noble family of Macabebe, Pampanga. Songsong was the second Filipino Jesuit. He was married and had a son. After the death of his wife, he entered the Society of Jesus at the age of 57 as a donado and volunteered for the mission in the...
, 1685 - Devasahayam PillaiDevasahayam PillaiDevasahayam Pillai was an 18th century convert from Hinduism to Christianity in the southern part of India.He may have been an official in the court of the Travancore king, Maharaja Marthanda Varma, during which time he came under the influence of the former Dutch naval commander, Captain...
, 1712-1752, Indian martyr. - Constantin BrâncoveanuConstantin BrâncoveanuConstantin Brâncoveanu was Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714.-Ascension:A descendant of the Craioveşti boyar family and related to Matei Basarab, Brâncoveanu was born at the estate of Brâncoveni and raised in the house of his uncle, stolnic Constantin Cantacuzino...
, 1714 - Lorenzo Carranco, Spanish missionary to Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, 1734 - Nicolás Tamarál, Spanish missionary to Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, 1734 - Vicente Liem de la PazVicente Liem de la PazVicente Liem de la Paz was a Tonkinese Dominican friar venerated as a saint and martyr by the Roman Catholic Church. He was born at Tra-lu, Tonkin in 1732 to Antonio and Monica Daeon de la Cruz, members of the Tonkinese nobility...
(TonkinTonkinTonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
ese Dominican), 1773 - Luís JaymeLuís JaymeLuís Jayme O.F.M. , born Melchor Jayme, was a Spanish-born Roman Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order. Born in the farm Son Baró in the village of Sant Joan, Majorca, his earliest schooling was acquired from the local parish priest...
, Spanish missionary to Alta CaliforniaAlta CaliforniaAlta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, 1775 - Cosmas of Aetolia, 1779
- Francisco GarcésFrancisco GarcésFrancisco Hermenegildo Tomás Garcés was a Spanish Franciscan missionary who explored much of the southwestern part of North America, including what are now Arizona, southern California, and northeastern Baja California. Garcés was born April 12, 1738, in Morata de Jalón , Zaragoza province,...
, Spanish missionary to Alta CaliforniaAlta CaliforniaAlta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, 1781 - Martyrs of CompiegneMartyrs of CompiègneThe Martyrs of Compiègne are sixteen Carmelite nuns who were guillotined On 17 July 1794 during the Reign of Terror. They are commemorated on 17 July of the Carmelite Calendar of Saints.Terrye Newkirk writes in :...
, 1794 - Andrés QuintanaAndrés QuintanaAndrés Quintana, O.F.M. was a Spanish missionary who labored in the Mission Santa Cruz, in California during the early part of the 19th century....
, Spanish missionary to Alta CaliforniaAlta CaliforniaAlta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, 1812 - Chinese MartyrsChinese MartyrsChinese Martyrs is the name given to a number of members of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church who were killed in China during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are celebrated as martyrs by their respective churches...
(various Christian denominations), 19th and 20th centuries - Andrew Dung-LacAndrew Dung-LacAndrew Dũng-Lạc is a saint and martyr of the Catholic Church, executed by beheading. He was born Trần An Dũng in 1795, taking the name Andrew at his baptism and was ordained a priest on 15 March 1823...
(Vietnamese Catholic), 1839 - Korean MartyrsKorean MartyrsThe Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against the Catholic Church during the 19th century in Korea. At least 8,000 adherents to the faith were known to have been killed during this persecution, 103 of whom were canonized en masse in 1984.-History:Catholicism had entered...
1839, 1846, 1866 - Peter ChanelPeter ChanelPierre Louis Marie Chanel, known in English as Saint Peter Chanel was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr.-Early years:Chanel was born in La Potière near Cuet in the area of Belley, Ain département, France....
(Catholic priest), 1841 - Hyrum SmithHyrum SmithHyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
, 1844
Joseph Smith, Jr., 1844
- Andrew Kim TaegonAndrew Kim TaegonSt. Andrew Kim Taegon aka Butterfly King was the first Korean-born Catholic priest. In the late 18th century, Roman Catholicism began to take root slowly in Korea, and was introduced by laypeople...
, 1846 - Marcus WhitmanMarcus WhitmanMarcus Whitman was an American physician and Oregon missionary in the Oregon Country. Along with his wife Narcissa Whitman he started a mission in what is now southeastern Washington state in 1836, which would later become a stop along the Oregon Trail...
, 1847 - Narcissa WhitmanNarcissa WhitmanNarcissa Prentiss Whitman was an American missionary in the Oregon Country of what would become the state of Washington. Along with Eliza Hart Spalding , she was the first European-American woman to cross the Rocky Mountains in 1836 on her way to found the Protestant Whitman Mission with husband Dr...
, 1847 - Martyrs of India 1857
- Lucy Yi ZhenmeiLucy Yi ZhenmeiA native of Mianyang in Sichuan, China, St. Lucy Yi Zhenmei was born on December 9, 1815, and was the youngest member in her family.Lucy was a very pious child, to the extent that she made a commitment to chastity at 12 years of age....
, one of the 19th century Chinese Catholic MartyrsChinese MartyrsChinese Martyrs is the name given to a number of members of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church who were killed in China during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are celebrated as martyrs by their respective churches...
, 1862 - Thomas BakerThomas Baker-Australian people:* Thomas Baker , Australian soldier and aviator of the First World War-British people:*Tom Baker , actor who played Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981...
, 1867, English missionary killed and eaten, FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island... - Martyrs of UgandaMartyrs of UgandaThe Uganda Martyrs were Christian converts who were murdered for their faith in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda.-Charles Lwanga and his companions:...
, 1885–1887 - Esther JohnEsther JohnEsther John was a Pakistani Christian nurse who was allegedly killed by a Muslim radical. Since her death she was honored by the Anglican church among ten notable Christian martyrs of the twentieth century demonstrated in a series of statues above one of the doorways of Westminster Abbey.-...
1929-1960, Found Killed in ChichawatniChichawatniChichawatni is a town in the Sahiwal District of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Situated near the Grand Trunk Road, it lies approximately from Sahiwal, the district capital.-Etymology:...
commemorated at Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. - Maria GorettiMaria GorettiMaria Goretti is an Italian virgin-martyr of the Roman Catholic Church, and is one of its youngest canonized saints. She died from multiple stab wounds inflicted by her attempted rapist after she refused him...
(virgin martyr), 1902 - Grand Duchess Elizabeth FyodorovnaGrand Duchess Elizabeth FyodorovnaGrand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia canonized as St. Elizabeth Romanova was a German princess of the House of Hesse, and the wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, fifth son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Princess Marie of Hesse and the Rhine...
, 1918 - Nun Barbara (Yakovleva)Varvara YakovlevaSister Varvara Yakovleva, also known as Sister Barbara Yakovleva , or simply Nun Barbara, , was a Russian Orthodox nun in the convent of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna...
, 1918 - Saints of the Cristero WarSaints of the Cristero WarOn May 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized a group of 25 saints and martyrs arising from the Mexican Cristero War. The vast majority are Roman Catholic priests who were executed for carrying out their ministry despite the suppression under the anti-clerical laws of Plutarco Elías Calles. Priests...
1926-1927 - Miguel ProMiguel ProMiguel Agustín Pro Juárez , also known as Blessed Miguel Pro, was a Mexican Jesuit priest, executed without trial during the persecution of the Catholic Church under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles after trumped up charges of involvement in an assassination attempt against former President...
, 1927 - Toribio Romo GonzálezToribio Romo GonzálezSaint Toribio Romo González was a Mexican martyr who died in the Cristero War.He was born April 16, 1900, in Santa Ana de Guadalupe, Jalostotitlán, Mexico. In 1912 he entered the Auxiliary Seminary in San Juan de los Lagos. He was a playful and happy seminarian who loved to joke. In 1922 he was...
, 1928 - Manche MasemolaManche MasemolaManche Masemola is a Christian martyr, of the Pedi tribe, who lived in Marishane, a small village near Pietersburg, in South Africa...
, (1913–1928) - José Sánchez del RíoJosé Sánchez del RíoBlessed José Luis Sánchez del Río was a young Mexican Cristero who was put to death by government officials because he refused to renounce his Catholic faith. He has been declared a martyr and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005.-Life:José Luis Sánchez del Río was born on March...
1928 - Innocencio of Mary ImmaculateInnocencio of Mary ImmaculateSaint Innocencio of Mary Immaculate , born Emanuele Canoura Arnau, was a member of the Passionist Congregation and a martyr of the Spanish Civil War...
1934 - Bartolome Blanco Marquez, 1936
- Martyrs of the Spanish Civil WarMartyrs of the Spanish Civil WarMartyrs of the Spanish Civil War is the name given by the Catholic Church to the people who were killed by Republicans during the war because of their faith. As of July 2008, almost one thousand Spanish martyrs have been beatified or canonized...
1934, 1936–1939 - Paul Schneider (pastor)Paul Schneider (pastor)Paul Schneider was an Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union pastor who was the first Protestant minister to be martyred by the Nazis. He was executed at Buchenwald.-Early life:...
1939 - Maximilian KolbeMaximilian KolbeSaint Maximilian Maria Kolbe OFM Conv was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the Nazi German concentration camp of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland during World War II.He was canonized on 10 October 1982 by Pope John Paul II, and...
(Polish Franciscan, died at Auschwitz), 1941 - Edith SteinEdith SteinSaint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross, sometimes also known as Saint Edith Stein , was a German Roman Catholic philosopher and nun, regarded as a martyr and saint of the Roman Catholic Church...
(Carmelite nun, died at Auschwitz), 1942 - Lucian TapiediLucian TapiediLucian Tapiedi was a Papuan Anglican teacher who was one of the "New Guinea Martyrs." The Martyrs were eight Anglican clergy, teachers, and medical missionaries killed by the Japanese in 1942 .-Early life:Tapiedi was born around 1921,“the nephew of a suspected sorcerer of Taupota...
(1942) - Franz JägerstätterFranz JägerstätterBlessed Franz Jägerstätter, O.F.S., was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed...
, 1943 - Dusty Miller (Martyr)Dusty Miller (martyr)"Dusty" Miller was a British P.O.W. in Thailand on the Burma Railway during Second World War. His life and death is attested to in Ernest Gordon's autobiographical work Through the Valley of the Kwai .-Background:Miller was a gardener from Newcastle and a Methodist...
, 1945, a Methodist layman killed as a P.O.W. of the Japanese in Thailand during WWII. - Dietrich BonhoefferDietrich BonhoefferDietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
, (April 9, 1945) Lutheran Pastor and member of the German ResistanceGerman ResistanceThe German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime... - Theodore RomzhaTheodore RomzhaBlessed Theodore Romzha was bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve from 1944 to 1947. Assassinated by Stalin's NKVD, he was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on June 27, 2001.-Early life:...
, 1947 - Beda ChangBeda ChangBeda Chang, S.J. was a Chinese Roman Catholic Jesuit priest and martyr...
, 1951 - Zdenka Cecilia SchelingováZdenka Cecilia SchelingováBlessed Zdenka Cecília Schelingová , was a Slovak nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Holy Cross and a victim of communist persecution in the former Czechoslovakia.She was born at Krivá na Orave...
, 1955 - Jim ElliotJim ElliotPhilip James Elliot was an evangelical Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Waodani people of Ecuador.-Early life:...
, 1956 - Nate SaintNate SaintNathanael "Nate" Saint was an evangelical Christian missionary pilot to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Waodani people through efforts known as Operation Auca....
, 1956, killed while attempting to evangelize the Waodani people - Ed McCullyEd McCullyEdward "Ed" McCully was an evangelical Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four other missionaries, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people, through efforts known as Operation Auca.-Early years:...
1956 - Pete FlemingPete FlemingPeter Sillence Fleming was an evangelical Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Waodani people of Ecuador.- Early life :Fleming was born in Seattle, Washington...
1956 - Roger YouderianRoger YouderianRoger Youderian was an Armenian-American evangelical Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca....
1956 - Alan Castillo, March 34, 1956
- Wang ZhimingWang ZhimingWang Zhiming was a Miao pastor little known outside his home in Wuding County, Yunnan, China at the time of his execution on December 29, 1973. Since then, he has received two unique honors. In 1981, he became the only Christian martyr of the Cultural Revolution to have a monument erected at his...
(1907 - December 29, 1973) Chinese pastor, publicly executed - Janani Jakaliya Luwum (1922 – 17 February 1977), Archbishop of Uganda.
- Óscar RomeroÓscar RomeroÓscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....
(August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980), Archbishop of San Salvador - Martyrs of AtlasMartyrs of AtlasOn the night of 26–27 March 1996, seven monks from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria, belonging to the Roman Catholic Trappist Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , were kidnapped in the Algerian Civil War. They were held for two months, and were found dead on 21 May 1996...
, 1996 - Kosheh MartyrsKosheh Martyrs21 Coptic Christians were the victims of a massacre in el-Kosheh village in Upper Egypt, located 450 kilometres south of Cairo, on Sunday 2 January 2000. The Coptic Christians killed in this incident were considered martyrs of the Coptic Orthodox Church by Pope Shenouda III.-Kosheh:Kosheh is...
, EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
1998–2000 - Ri Hyon Ok, Executed in June 2009 in North Korea for distributing bibles.
- Nag Hammadi martyrsNag Hammadi massacreThe Nag Hammadi massacre was a massacre of Coptic Christians carried out on the eve of January 7, 2010, in the Egyptian city of Nag Hammadi. The massacre occurred at the hands of Muslim gunmen in front of the Nag Hammadi cathedral, as Coptic Christians were leaving the church after celebrating the...
, EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
2010 - Alufunzi Ziwa, 2011