Vatican to consider martyr status for children killed during Mass at Annunciation Church

Two children fatally shot during Mass at a Catholic church in Minneapolis may one day be recognized by the Vatican among contemporary Christian martyrs, according to Church officials.

As Zeale News reported, 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel were killed while attending a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church Aug. 27. The violent attack has raised the question of whether the circumstances meet the criteria for inclusion among today’s Christian martyrs.

Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Vatican’s Commission of New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith, addressed the matter during a Vatican press conference Sept. 8, according to The Catholic World Report.

“If the diocese or other local ecclesial entities present these figures to us as witnesses of the faith, we will examine them and see if we can include them in the list,” he said.

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The commission — established in 2023 by Pope Francis and operating under the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — focuses on preserving the memory of Christians who have died in recent decades under circumstances involving religious hatred or persecution. 

The list includes both Catholics and non-Catholics and is intended to highlight lives marked by faithful witness, though it is not part of the official canonization process. Archbishop Fabene noted that being included in the archive does not amount to beatification and follows a completely separate process.

According to the Catholic World Report, the commission has so far recorded 1,640 Christians who have been killed in the 21st century in various contexts of persecution or religious hatred. The list is being assembled in view of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

Andrea Riccardi, the commission’s vice president and founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, spoke of the importance of remembering those who have died for their faith. 

“The heart of this work is memory,” he said. “As St. John Paul II said, the names of those who died for their faith should not be lost.”

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