VATICAN CITY -- There always will be martyrs among Christians in the world, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis said he hopes his visit to Romania will strengthen the bonds of faith that unite Orthodox and Catholics in the country.

VATICAN – Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of an Italian missionary killed in Myanmar and seven Romanian Catholic bishops – one of whom was secretly named a cardinal by St. Paul VI – persecuted during the communist era.

VATICAN – The Archdiocese of Rouen concluded its sainthood inquiry into the life and death of a French priest who was killed while celebrating Mass.

VATICAN – God sends his consolation to those in need of reassurance, even when they are facing death, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – The lives of 19 religious men and women martyred during the Algerian civil war are a testament to God's plan of love and peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims, Pope Francis said.

ALGIERS, Algeria – The beatifications of 19 martyrs in Algeria will be a "great joy" to the church and will help unite Christians and Muslims of the country, said a French-Algerian archbishop.

WAAHINGTON – The human rights office for the Archdiocese of San Salvador is taking the country's judicial system to task, urging the prompt prosecution of those responsible in the assassination of St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero, calling for an end to "creative" excuses for not doing so.

VATICAN – Appealing to the international community to help bring peace to Syria and Iraq, Pope Francis and Catholicos Gewargis III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, also paid homage to the lands' persecuted Christians, who demonstrate that faith in Christ is a bond that is stronger than any denominational difference.

WASHINGTON – Days after the Catholic Church declared Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero a saint, a judge in El Salvador issued a capture order for a former military captain suspected of killing the religious leader in 1980 as he celebrated Mass.

It’s a nine-hour flight from Toronto to Vatican City. It’s seven hours by jet to El Salvador. But Msgr. Oscar Romero’s canonization on Oct. 14 will not be a distant event for many Catholics. 

LONDON, England – London waste company discovers relic of St Clement in the trash

For Francisco Rico-Martinez, Archbishop Oscar Romero may well be the saint of silence.

Passion (Palm) Sunday, March 25 (Year B) Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47

ROME – Rome's Colosseum, long a symbol of the persecution of early Christians, was bathed in red light late Feb. 24 as a reminder of and a prayer for the thousands of Christians being persecuted for their faith today.