Martyr of charity
Encyclopedia
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 for being a 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.
Charity (virtue)
In Christian theology charity, or love , means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.The term should not be confused with the more restricted modern use of the word charity to mean benevolent giving.- Caritas: altruistic love :...
. While a martyr of the faith dies through being persecuted for being a Catholic
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
or for being a Christian
Persecution of Christians
Persecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith can be traced both historically and in the current era. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith, at the hands of both Jews from whose religion Christianity arose, and the Roman Empire which controlled much of the land...
, a martyr of charity dies through practising charity motivated by Christianity. This is a form of martyrdom recognised for canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
since Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
's canonization of Maximilian Kolbe
Maximilian Kolbe
Saint 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...
in 1982. Earlier martyrs of charity who were canonized were recognized as Confessor of the Faith
Confessor of the Faith
The title Confessor, the short form of Confessor of the Faith, is a title given by the Christian Church to a type of saint.-Western Christianity:...
rather than martyrs.
List of martyrs of charity
- Lawrence of Rome, executed in the Diocletianic persecution after distributing church valuables among the poor instead of to the Emperor.
- Father DamienFather DamienFather Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. , born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order...
, contracted leprosy from his patients at Kalaupapa; canonized in 2009 - 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...
, volunteered for fatal collective punishmentCollective punishmentCollective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions...
in AuschwitzAuschwitz concentration campConcentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
; canonized in 1982 - Everard MercurianEverard MercurianEverard Mercurian was the fourth Superior General of the Society of Jesus.- Brief Biography :Born Lardinois into a humble family in Marcourt, near La Roche-en-Ardenne in what is now the province of Luxembourg in 1514, in the south-east corner of what is now Belgium. This is the origin of his...
, died ministering in an influenzaInfluenzaInfluenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
epidemic in 1580. - Edward MetcalfeEdward MetcalfeEdward Metcalfe was a British Benedictine scholar.He entered the Benedictine monastery at Ampleforth in 1811, and was ordained five years later. He distinguished himself early as a linguist...
, died ministering in an epidemic in LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
in 1847. - Benjamin PetitBenjamin PetitBenjamin Marie Petit was a Catholic missionary sent to the Potawatomi nation of Native Americans in Indiana in 1837. A native of Rennes in Brittany, Petit was trained as a lawyer at the University of Rennes, then studied for the priesthood at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Paris...
, died travelling as a missionaryCatholic missionsAs the church normally organizes itself along territorial lines, and because they had the human and material resources, religious orders—some even specializing in it—undertook most missionary work, especially in the early phases...
to the PotawatomiPotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
in 1839 - Bernardo TolomeiBernardo TolomeiSaint Bernardo Tolomei was an Italian theologian, the founder of the Roman Catholic Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto. In the Roman Martyrology he is commemorated on August 20, but in the Benedictine calendar his optional memorial is celebrated on the previous day...
, died ministering in a plagueBlack DeathThe Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
epidemic in 1348; canonized in 2009 - Sára SalkaháziSara SalkahaziBlessed Sára Salkaházi, S.S.S. , born as Sára Schalkház, was a Hungarian Roman Catholic religious sister who saved the lives of approximately one hundred Jews during World War II...
, executed for sheltering Jews from the Holocaust; beatified in 2006 - Aloysius GonzagaAloysius Gonzaga- Early life :Aloysius Gonzaga was born at his family's castle in Castiglione delle Stiviere, between Brescia and Mantova in northern Italy in what was then part of the Papal States. He was a member of the illustrious House of Gonzaga...
, died while ministering to victims of a plaguePandemicA pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1591. CanonizedCanonizationCanonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
in 1726. - Ezechiele RaminEzechiele RaminFather Ezechiele Ramin MCCJ , familiarly known as "Lele" in Italy and "Ezequiel" in Brazil, was an Italian Comboni missionary and artist who was defined a martyr of charity by Pope John Paul II after his murder in Brazil while defending the rights of the farmers and the Suruí natives of the...
, died in 1985 while defending the rights of the farmers and the SuruíSuruíThe Suruí, also called the Suruí-Paíter, are an indigenous people who live in the Rondônia region of Brazil.First prolonged contact with the modern world came in the late 1960s, the Brazilian government laid the 2,000-mile Trans-Amazon Highway through Rondônia...
natives of the RondôniaRondôniaRondônia is a state in Brazil, located in the north-western part of the country. To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, and in the south is Bolivia. Its capital is Porto Velho. The state was named after Candido Rondon...
area (BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
).