Scottish Catholic Observer

The group was from the town of Otranto and beheaded by Turkish invaders in 1480 for refusing to convert to Islam during the Ottoman invasion.

During the ceremony, the Pope compared Antonio Primaldo, a tailor and leader of the Otranto martyrs, to St Stephen, the first martyr, and then used their lives as an example to Christians being persecuted in the Middle East today.

”The martyrs’ faithfulness even unto death and the proclamation of the Gospel are rooted in the love of God that has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,” the Pope said. ”Let us ask God to sustain those many Christians who, in these times and in many parts of the world, right now, still suffer violence, and give them the courage and fidelity to respond to evil with good.”

This example of Mr Primaldo and the martyrs was also praised by Dr Donald Prudlo, associate professor of Mediaeval History at Jacksonville State University.

“The Martyrs of Otranto are an exceptional testimony of fidelity to Christ, even in the midst of terrible sufferings,” Dr Prudlo told Vatican Radio. “[They were] simple lay Christians, defeated, leaderless, yet bound by their profession of faith in a hostile world.”

The Otranto martyrs, Beatified in 1771, were described by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2007 as being ‘killed out of hatred for their faith.’ Their Canonisations were announced during his resignation earlier this year.

During the service on Sunday, the Pope Francis also canonised St Laura Montoya, the first saint born in Colombia, who spread the faith to indigenous Colombians; and St Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, known as Mother Lupita, who helped set up the Congregation of the Handmaids of St Margaret Mary Alacoque and the Poor.

Pope Francis said that all the saints canonised offered a ‘shining example’ to all Christians.

”Let us take this question with us to consider during the day: how am I faithful to Christ?” the Pope said to the vast number of people gathered at the Vatican for the occasion. ”Am I able to ‘show’ my Faith with respect, but also with courage? Am I attentive to others, do I recognise when someone is in need, do I see in everyone a brother and a sister to love?”

Pic: Pope Francis att the Canonisations in Rome yesterday