Today's martyrs show power of love over hate, says Pope

- Cindy Wooden / Carol Glatz (CNS).

In situations where "hatred seemed to have permeated every aspect of life," modern Christian martyrs demonstrated that love is stronger than death. This is how has stated Pope Leo XIV at an ecumenical prayer service, held on the evening of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Sunday on which he celebrated his 70th birthday.

The Sept. 14 prayer service commemorated 1,624 Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants who died for their faith between 2000 and 2025. During the Holy Year 2000, St. John Paul II led a similar commemoration of Christians killed in the 20th century, mainly by communist and fascist regimes.

Pope Leo met with 28 representatives of other churches and Christian communities for the prayer service in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

With Anglicans, Orthodox and Protestants 

Anglican Bishop Anthony Ball, representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See, and Orthodox Archbishop Elia of Helsinki and All Finland, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, were on either side of the Pope. Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Antony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's department for external relations, also attended.

The Vatican did not publish the names of the 1,624 new members martyrswhose stories were submitted over the past two years by Catholic bishops' conferences, religious orders and nunciatures around the world.

Dorothy Stang, Father Ragheed Ganni, Brother Francis Tofi...

But Pope Leo mentioned some of them in his homily, including Sister Dorothy Stang, a U.S. member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She was shot and killed in the Brazilian Amazon in 2005 for defending the land rights of indigenous and poor farmers.

"When those who were about to kill her asked her for a weapon, she showed them her Bible and replied: 'This is my only weapon,'" Pope Leo said.

He also spoke of Chaldean Father Ragheed Ganni of Mosul, Iraq, "who refused to fight to witness to true Christian behavior." He and three subdeacons were shot dead in front of their church in 2007.

The Pope also mentioned Brother Francis Tofi, an Anglican and member of the Melanesian Brotherhood, who gave his life for peace in the Solomon Islands. Tofi and six other members of the religious order were killed by militiamen on Guadalcanal in 2003.

Persecution increases and "we do not want to forget".

"Unfortunately, despite the end of the great dictatorships of the 20th century, the persecution of Christians has not ceased to this day," the pope said. "On the contrary, in some parts of the world it has increased."

"We cannot and do not want to forget," the Pope said. And "we want to keep this memory alive together with our brothers and sisters of other churches and Christian communities. For this reason, I wish to reaffirm the Catholic Church's commitment to safeguard the memory of witnesses to the faith of all Christian traditions."

The new martyrs and witnesses to the faith were not killed because of the denomination to which they belonged, but because they were Christians, he said, and lived the Gospel of loving service to their brothers and sisters.

Ecumenism of the blood

"As we recognized during the recent synod, the ecumenism of blood unites Christians from different backgrounds who together give their lives for the faith in Jesus Christ," he continued. "The witness of their martyrdom is more eloquent than any words: unity comes from the Cross of the Lord," he said, citing the final document of the synod.

"Their martyrdom continues to spread the Gospel in a world marked by hatred, violence and war," Pope Leo said. "It is a hope full of immortality because, although they have been physically killed, no one can silence their voice or erase the love they have shown."

In the morning in San Pedro, congratulations 

'Auguri Papa Leone', said a large pilgrims' banner in St. Peter's Square this morning during the prayer of the AngelusAnd another, Happy Birthday, Pope Leo! The faithful congratulated the Pope on his 70th birthday, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 

The largest banner, red and white, was held by a group from the Peruvian town of Monsefu, in the province of Chiclayo, where the Pope had served as bishop for eight years.

"Dear friends, it seems you already know that today I am 70 years old," the Pope said amid loud cheers and shouts of "auguri"" which in Italian means "congratulations" and "happy birthday."

Acknowledgments

"I thank the Lord and my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers" he said after praying the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter's Square.

The musicians and bands in the plaza played the melody of "Happy Birthday" and the people sang and applauded.

Thank you all very much," he said, and someone shouted: "Long live the Pope!

"Thank you, have a good Sunday!" he said.

The Vatican also released the trailer for a new documentary celebrating the American roots of Pope Leo XIII. The first American-born pope, Robert F. Prevost was born on September 14, 1955 in Chicago and grew up in Dolton, a nearby suburb.

 "Leo from Chicago"

Titled Leo from ChicagoThe documentary "will be released soon on Vatican Media channels" and "will offer viewers an intimate portrait of Pope Leo XIV's early life in the United States. It begins with the testimonies of his brothers Louis and John, along with numerous voices, images and stories" told by those close to him, according to the Sept. 13 press release.

Leo from Chicago' follows Lion of Perua documentary about the Pope's years of mission in Peru.

Meanwhile, children at the Vatican-owned pediatric hospital sent the Pope hand-drawn cards and letters. And church leaders from around the world also wished the pope a happy birthday, according to Vatican News.

Prayers

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, issued a message on behalf of the Roman Curia. He expressed "deep gratitude for your tireless witness to the Gospel and your constant encouragement to the faithful."

"We assure you of our prayers for your health and strength, so that you may continue to lead God's people in unity and peace," the message said.

Greetings from celebrities 

Italian President Sergio Mattarella praised the Pope and wrote: "His words have always reminded the international community of the dignity of every human person and the need for peace. On behalf of the Italian people, I wish him the best of health and serenity."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres wrote to thank the Pope for his "steadfast advocacy for dialogue and care for our common home. His moral leadership continues to inspire the global community."

Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople wrote: "We rejoice with our Catholic brothers and sisters on this day, giving thanks for their fraternal spirit and dedication to Christian unity. May the Lord grant them many more years of health and peace."

Italian Bishops

The Italian Episcopal Conference wrote: "We thank the Lord for the gift of Pope Leo XIV, who reminds us daily that hope and fraternity are at the heart of Christian life. We join the whole Church in wishing him serenity and the joy of the Spirit."

Writing on behalf of the Pope's Diocese of Rome , Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar for Rome, noted. "Please accept our prayers and affection for all that you do every day, with tireless dedication, in the service of the universal Church, beginning with the Church of Rome."

"In sharing your concerns, especially about the many scenes of war that blood the world, we hope that you can achieve what your heart desires and continue to sow hope for the men and women of today," the cardinal said.

More congratulations

Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, sent greetings on behalf of all Jesuits worldwide, writing, "Your encouragement to 'go to the peripheries' continues to inspire our mission and our apostolic work."

Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based umbrella organization for national Catholic charities, wrote: "Your voice on behalf of the poor and displaced strengthens our charitable mission. We celebrate your birthday by renewing our service to those most in need."

60th Anniversary of the Synod of Bishops

At the end of the Angelus, the Holy Father recalled that "tomorrow (Monday), we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Synod of Bishops, a prophetic institution of St. Paul VI, so that the bishops could exercise more and better communion with the Successor of Peter". "I hope that this celebration," he added, "will renew the commitment to unity, to synodality and to the mission of the Church."

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The Pope began his address by referring to the feast of the day. "Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which commemorates the finding of the wood of the Cross by St. Helena in Jerusalem in the fourth century and the restitution of the precious relic to the Holy City by Emperor Heraclius.

Then, after commenting on Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, which is recorded in the Gospel of the day, the Pope underlined the depth of Jesus' self-giving.

"God saved us by showing himself to us, offering himself as our companion, teacher, doctor, friend, to the point of becoming for us Bread broken in the Eucharist. And to accomplish this work he made use of one of the cruelest instruments of death that man has ever invented: the cross," he said.

The immense love of Jesus

For this reason, "today we celebrate her "exaltation". We do so because of the immense love with which God, embracing her for our salvation, transformed her from a means of death into an instrument of life. In this way she teaches us that "nothing can separate us from him (cf. Rm 8:35-39) and that his charity is greater than our sin itself (cf. Francis, Catechesis, 30 March 2016)."

In conclusion, Pope Leo invited us to ask, "through the intercession of Mary, the Mother present on Calvary with her Son, that her saving love may also take root and grow in us". "And may we too know how to give ourselves to one another, just as he gave himself entirely to all.