SW News: Pope Francis said that the 21 Coptic martyrs killed in Libya six years ago had received the “greatest gift a Christian can receive” and they are “saints of all Christian denominations and traditions.” To commemorate their martyrdom, an online event was organized last Friday, February 12, 2021 by the Coptic Orthodox diocese of London. In his video message, Pope Francis said that he holds the 21 men in his heart who were “baptized with blood” and “blanched their lives in the blood of the lamb.”

Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II and the Primate of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury also joined the online event.

Pope Francis recalled how the martyrs were ordinary men who worked hard to take care of their families. “And these men bore witness to Jesus Christ. Their throats slit by the brutality of ISIS, they died saying: “Lord Jesus!”, confessing the name of Jesus,” said the Holy Father.

Even though the brutal murder was a tragedy, Pope Francis said that they had received the “greatest gift a Christian can receive: bearing witness to Jesus Christ to the point of giving their life.” He thanked the priests and bishops of the Coptic Church which “raised them and taught them to grow in the faith.”

“Let us pray together today in memory of these twenty-one Coptic Martyrs: may they intercede for us all before the Father,” said the Holy Father concluding his message.

The 21 men were captured six years ago by the ISIS from the city of Sirte, Libya. They worked as construction workers and belonged to poor families. On February 15, 2015, a video was released by the militants showing the beheading of these men who were referred to as “people of the Cross.” Following the defeat and expulsion of ISIS, their bodies were found, and the remains brought back to Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church declared them as martyrs and their feast day is celebrated on February 15 in the Gregorian calendar. A shrine has been built at the Martyrs of Faith and Homeland Church in their honor in Al-Our village, Minya.