When the Vatican speaks of “new martyrs” or “witnesses to the faith,” this does not automatically mean that those people have been juridically recognized as martyrs, much less that they have been beatified. Leo XIV made the distinction explicit on September 16, 2026, when he received participants in the meeting The 21st century: a new time of martyrs?. The Pope described “witnesses to the faith” as a broader category, distinct both from martyrs whose beatification causes are underway and from those already listed among the Blesseds and Saints.
There is also an important chronological detail. The conference promoted by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and the Commission for New Martyrs - Witnesses to the Faith took place at the Augustinianum on September 15, 2026. Leo XIV’s audience with the participants took place on September 16. That sequence explains why some coverage associates the topic with the 16th even though the study conference itself was held the previous day.
What “witness to the faith” means in the context of the new martyrs
The Commission for New Martyrs - Witnesses to the Faith was established by Francis in 2023 to collect and preserve the memory of Christians who lost their lives because of their fidelity to Christ and the Gospel. The founding letter itself made clear that the initiative was not intended to establish new criteria for the canonical verification of martyrdom. The work was conceived as a historical survey that can also include Christians from other denominations.
In 2026, Leo XIV made the boundary even clearer. According to the papal address, the expression “witness to the faith” is meant to include complex historical situations in which the motive of the person who killed the victim cannot be explicitly attributed to what canon law and theology call odium fidei, “hatred of the faith.” For that reason, the Commission’s work is described as historiographical and educational, not juridical. The emphasis is on the victim’s fidelity to Christ unto death, without turning that historical record into a canonical judgment.
This means that a person may be remembered by the Commission as a witness to the faith even when no beatification cause has been opened. It also means that inclusion in this field of memory is not the same as an official declaration of martyrdom in the technical sense used by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Glossary: witness to the faith, recognized martyrdom and beatification
| Term | What it means | Nature | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Witness to the faith | A broad category used by the Commission to preserve the memory of Christians who remained faithful to the Gospel until death, including situations in which the aggressor’s motive is not juridically demonstrated as hatred of the faith. | Historical, pastoral, ecumenical and educational. | It does not imply an open canonical cause, a decree of martyrdom, beatification or canonization. |
| Reputation of martyrdom | A reputation among the faithful that a person died because of the faith or a virtue connected with the faith. It is an element that must be examined before and during a cause. | A preliminary and evidentiary element within the canonical path. | It is not, by itself, a juridical recognition of martyrdom. |
| Martyrdom recognized in a cause | A practical way to refer to the canonical conclusion, after investigation and judgment, that the martyrdom of a Servant of God has been proven with the required certainty. The Holy See commonly publishes a decree concerning the martyrdom. | Juridical and canonical. | It does not automatically make the person Blessed. The title and public cult proper to beatification depend on the pontifical act of beatification. |
| Beatification | An act of the Pope that grants the title Blessed and permits limited public cult in the places and ways established by law. | Juridical, liturgical and pontifical. | It is not the same as canonization, which has universal scope and a definitive character for the whole Church. |
Where the canonical process of martyrdom begins
The canonical process begins on a different level. The instruction Sanctorum Mater, which regulates diocesan or eparchial inquiries in causes of saints, explains that a cause gathers evidence in order to reach moral certainty about heroic virtues or about the martyrdom of the person whose beatification and canonization are being requested. Once the cause is formally opened, the Catholic is called a Servant of God.
Before a cause is opened, the competent bishop must verify, among other points, whether there is an authentic and widespread reputation of holiness or martyrdom and a reputation of intercessory power. The process then moves through the collection of documents, the hearing of witnesses, the conclusion of the diocesan phase and the transmission of the acts to Rome, where the cause is studied and judged.
In a martyrdom cause, the Church’s juridical tradition examines elements that are not required for the simple historical recording of a witness to the faith. Benedict XVI explained in 2006 that the persecutor’s odium fidei must be established, directly or indirectly but with moral certainty. Canonical documentation also considers death suffered because of the faith or a virtue connected with the faith. This evidentiary threshold helps explain why the Commission created in 2023 and discussed again in 2026 cannot be confused with a tribunal for causes of saints.
Is a decree on martyrdom already a beatification?
No. A decree recognizing martyrdom is a decisive step in a cause, but beatification and recognition of martyrdom are different acts. The official explanation of the rite of beatification defines beatification as the concession of limited public cult to a Servant of God whose heroic virtues or martyrdom have been duly recognized. In other words, recognition of martyrdom provides the canonical basis for moving forward, but the title Blessed and the corresponding cult depend on the act of beatification.
There is an important practical difference between martyrdom causes and causes based on heroic virtues. Francis recalled in 2024 that a miracle is not required for the beatification of a martyr. That does not eliminate the investigation of martyrdom, nor does it turn a decree automatically into a beatification. It means only that once martyrdom has been established according to the Church’s norms, an additional miracle is not required as a condition for the martyr’s beatification.
Why “hatred of the faith” is an important dividing line
The most useful clarification in 2026 is the contrast between the victim’s motivation and the aggressor’s motivation. The Commission on witnesses to the faith can preserve the memory of someone who remained faithful to Christ and died because of an evangelical commitment, including situations involving abuse of power, organized crime or other contexts in which the perpetrator’s motive is mixed or difficult to classify.
A canonical martyrdom cause, by contrast, must answer a narrower juridical question. It is not enough to establish that the victim was Christian, did good or died violently. The elements proper to martyrdom must be demonstrated according to the Church’s doctrine and discipline. That is why a papal tribute, an ecclesial commemoration or the presence of a name in a historical catalogue does not replace a canonical investigation.
The Commission can include people who will never be beatified
Yes. That possibility is not a defect in the project but part of its purpose. Francis’s 2023 letter states that the research extends to all Christian denominations. Since Catholic beatification is a canonical procedure of the Catholic Church, the Commission’s ecumenical dimension already shows that its catalogue is broader than the universe of beatification causes.
When presenting the 2026 conference, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro also explained that it is not excluded that causes of beatification and canonization may later be opened for some people included in the catalogue, provided the required conditions are met. The wording matters: some may eventually enter a cause, but the catalogue is not a list of candidates automatically placed on the road to beatification.
How to read Vatican terminology correctly
- “New martyr” or “witness to the faith” in the Commission’s context: read it as historical memory and Christian witness, not as an announcement of beatification.
- “Beatification cause opened”: there is a formal canonical procedure. The person is a Servant of God, but the outcome has not been decided.
- “Martyrdom recognized” or “decree on martyrdom”: this indicates an important juridical conclusion within the cause. It must still be distinguished from the act of beatification.
- “Beatified”: the pontifical act granting the title Blessed and the legally permitted limited public cult has taken place.
- “Canonized”: the person has been enrolled among the Saints with a cult proposed to the universal Church, in an act distinct from and later than beatification.
What the September 2026 meeting actually added
The meeting did not create a new juridical category of holiness and did not change the canonical criteria for martyrdom. Its main contribution was to make public a distinction that prevents rushed interpretations. “Witness to the faith” is a broader category of memory. “Recognized martyrdom” belongs to the vocabulary of a canonical cause subject to investigation and judgment. “Beatification” is a later pontifical act that grants a title and public cult.
This distinction also protects the meaning of each initiative. The Commission can document stories that deserve to be preserved even when there is no Catholic cause, or perhaps never will be one. At the same time, the canonical process maintains its own standard of proof, especially when it must juridically establish martyrdom.
Official sources for checking the terminology
- Leo XIV’s address to participants in the seminar on 21st-century martyrs, September 16, 2026.
- Official presentation of the conference by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, September 10, 2026.
- Francis’s letter establishing the Commission for New Martyrs - Witnesses to the Faith, July 3, 2023.
- Sanctorum Mater, the instruction on inquiries in causes of saints.
- Benedict XVI’s 2006 letter on the criteria for martyrdom and verification of odium fidei.
- Official explanation of the juridical nature of beatification and its difference from canonization.
- Francis’s 2024 address on martyrdom and the offering of life, including the point that martyrs do not need a miracle for beatification.
