Today the Church commemorates the Martyrs Felicity and Perpetua killed in Carthage in 202 A.D. Each left behind a young child.
 
From the account of the Martyrdom of Felicity and Perpetua:

Ah, most valiant and blessed martyrs! Truly are you called and chosen for the glory of Christ Jesus our Lord! And any man who exalts, honors, and worships his glory should read for the consolation of the Church these new deeds of heroism which are no less significant than the tales of old. For these new manifestations of virtue will bear witness to one and the same Spirit who still operates, and to God the Father almighty, to his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom is splendor and immeasurable power for all the ages. Amen.

And here are the names of the Coptic Christian Martyrs slaughtered in Libya in 2015:

Milad Saber Mounir Adly Saad, single from Menbal village;
Sameh Salah Farouq, married, one child, from Manqarius village;
Ezzat Boshra Nassif, married, with one son of 4 years, from Dafash village;
Mina Shehata Awad, from Al-Farouqeyya village;
Louqa Nagati Anis Abdou, 27 years, married, with a baby of 10 months;
Essam Baddar Samir Ishaq, single; both from al-Gabaly village.
 
All the following are from Al-Our village:
Hany Abdal-Massih Salib, married, three daughters and one son;
Guergues Milad Sanyut, single;
Tawadraus Youssef Tawadraus, married, three children from 7 to 13 years old;
Kyrillos Boschra Fawzy, single
Magued Soliman Shehata, married, two daughters and a son;
Mina Fayez Aziz, single;
Samouïl Alham Wilson, married, three children, 6, 4 and 2 years old;
Bishoï Stephanos Kamel, single;
Samouïl Stephanos Kamel, single
Malak Abram Sanyut, married, three children;
Milad Makin Zaky, married, one daughter;
Abanub Ayyad Ateyya Shehata, single
Guergues Samir Megally Zakher, single;
Youssef Shukry Younan, single;
Malak Farag Ibrahim, married, a baby daughter.

Robert P. Imbelli, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, is a longtime Commonweal contributor.

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