NEWSPope Francis proclaims 35 new Saints including 33 Martyrs

Pope Francis, who has repeatedly paid tribute to Christians suffering or dying for their faith in current times, especially in the Middle East since he became Pontiff in 2013, gave the Catholic Church 35 new saints during a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square, Rome.


Three of the saints were children in 16th-century Mexico who were martyred for embracing the Catholic faith and refusing to return to their ancient conditions. 30 who were also proclaimed Saints on Sunday are martyrs, including priests and lay people, who suffered anti-Catholic persecution in 1645 at the hands of Dutch Calvinists in Brazil.

The remaining two saints were a priest in Spain in the last century and an Italian priest who died in 1739.