Four men were killed by death squads in El Salvador decades ago. Now, as the martyrs are closer to official sainthood, Salvadorans in the U.S. hope the designation could inspire the church to center the poor and marginalized.
A Mass at the Mutemwa Leprosy Center kick-started the opening of the process for beatification and canonization of John Bradburne, a lay Franciscan who was martyred in Zimbabwe in 1979.
Blaj, Romania - At a June 2 Eastern rite liturgy attended by 60,000, Pope Francis honored Romanian Catholics who were persecuted by the country's communist-era authorities.
Pope Francis has recognized the martyrdom of De La Salle Christian Brother James Miller, who was born in Wisconsin and was shot to death in Guatemala in 1982.
A Polish Catholic nursing association has advocated since the 1990s for Hanna Chrzanowska's canonization. She will come a step closer with a beatification Mass April 28 in Krakow.
In rural Paraguay in 2002, a newborn who spent 20 minutes without signs of life after the umbilical cord was cut was declared dead after attempts to revive him failed.
Pope Francis announced at the end of a question-and-answer sessions with pastors in the Diocese of Rome that Blessed Paul VI would be canonized this year.
