In the Catholic church, a martyr of charity is someone who dies as a result of administering Christian charity. While a martyr of the faith dies through being persecuted for being a Catholic or Christian, a martyr of charity dies through practising charity motivated by Christianity. This is a form of martyrdom recognised for canonization since Pope John Paul II's canonization of Maximilian Kolbe in 1982. Earlier martyrs of charity who were canonized were recognized as Confessor of the Faith rather than martyrs.
List of martyrs of charity
- Lawrence of Rome,[1] executed in the Diocletianic persecution after distributing church valuables among the poor instead of to the Emperor.
- Father Damien, contracted leprosy from his patients at Kalaupapa; canonized in 2009
- Maximilian Kolbe,[2] volunteered for fatal collective punishment in Auschwitz; canonized in 1982
- Everard Mercurian, died ministering in an influenza epidemic in 1580.
- Edward Metcalfe, died ministering in an epidemic in Leeds in 1847.[3]
- Benjamin Petit, died travelling as a missionary to the Potawatomi in 1839
- Bernardo Tolomei, died ministering in a plague epidemic in 1348; canonized in 2009[4]
- Sára Salkaházi, executed for sheltering Jews from the Holocaust; beatified in 2006
References
- ^ González Nieves, Roberto O. (19 February 2000). "The Permanent Diaconate: its Identity, Functions, and Prospects". Vatican. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ John Paul II (15 August 2001). "Angelus: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary". Vatican. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^
MacErlean, A. (1911). "Edward Metcalfe". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ "Bernardo Tolomei (1272-1348)". Vatican. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
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