Coptic Orthodox Martyrs recognised in the Catholic Church

 Pope Francis has spoken of an "ecumenism of blood" on a number of occasions during his ministry as the Successor of St Peter. I commented on this in a post on 16th February 2015: Pope Francis and Ecumenism of Blood. In that post, I related Pope Francis remark to the thought of Pope Benedict XVI expressed during his visit to Cologne for the World Youth Day in 2005; and to a passage from Pope St John Paul II's encyclical Ut Unum Sint (n.84), which I quote below:

I have already remarked, and with deep joy, how an imperfect but real communion is preserved and is growing at many levels of ecclesial life. I now add that this communion is already perfect in what we all consider the highest point of the life of grace, martyria unto death, the truest communion possible with Christ who shed his Blood, and by that sacrifice brings near those who once were far off (cf. Eph 2:13).

At his General Audience on 10th May 2023, Pope Francis was accompanied by His Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, at the beginning of his visit to the Holy See. In his audience address, Pope Francis referred to the martyrdom of twenty one Coptic Orthodox Christians in Libya in 2015. Those martyrs were canonised in the Coptic Orthodox Church shortly afterwards.

In his private meeting with His Holiness Tawadros II on the next day, Pope Francis announced that, with His Holiness consent, those martyrs would now be included in the Martyrology of the Roman Catholic Church, with 15th February, the date of their deaths, as the date on which they can now be celebrated in the Liturgy. This action by Pope Francis appears to me a natural implementation of the Pope St John Paul II's words in Ut Unum Sint. 

To gain a full understanding of Pope Francis' decision, it is worth reading the full text of his address during his private meeting with Pope Tawadros II. Pope Francis indicates that he intends that the inclusion of the Coptic Martyrs is a sign of a spiritual communion uniting the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Churches. It is also interesting to look at the comment in this article at Catholic World Report: A "bolt out of the blue": Pope Francis sets off an ecumenical earthquake. One thing worthy of note from the latter is the suggestion that a devotion to the Coptic Martyrs has grown up in a "grass roots" kind of way in both the Catholic Church and other Christian communities, separately from a formal recognition by Church authorities. It is also worth noting Pope Francis recent General Audience address dedicated to the witness of martyrs in his series of addresses on the Passion for evangelisation:the apostolic zeal of the believer.

In this journey of friendship we are also accompanied by the martyrs, who testify that "no one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (Jn 15:13). I have no words to express my gratitude for the precious gift of a relic of the Coptic martyrs killed in Libya on 15 February 2015. These martyrs were baptized not only in water and the Spirit, but also in blood, with a blood that is a seed of unity for all followers of Christ. I am pleased to announce today that, with Your Holiness' consent, these twenty-one martyrs will be included in the Roman Martyrology as a sign of the spiritual communion uniting our two Churches.