The Catholic Church in the Philippines has named seven men and women as “new martyrs” — witnesses who gave their lives for the Gospel in the face of modern persecution. Their stories, marked by courage and compassion, will be sent to the Vatican’s Commission on New Martyrs for the Jubilee Year 2025, joining a global remembrance of Christians who have died for their faith in the 21st century.
“These individuals shed their blood because of violent opposition to the good brought by the Gospel,” said Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Each story bears the marks of faith lived not in comfort, but in conviction.
This recognition is not the same as a process for beatification. Rather, the initiative aims to make the faithful aware that martyrdom continues to be a reality for the Church today, even more so than in the first centuries.
Among them is Fr. Rhoel Gallardo, a Claretian missionary abducted in 2000 by Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan. For 44 days he was tortured yet refused to abandon those he served, dying with a rosary still in his hands.
Another priest, Fr. Marcelito “Tito” Paez, was shot in 2017 after helping free a political prisoner. Known for championing justice for farmers and the poor in Nueva Ecija, his ministry embodied the Gospel’s call to “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6).
Four of the new martyrs — Junrey Barbante, Janine Arenas, Evangeline Aromin, and Riza Daniel — were lay Catholics killed in a bombing at Mindanao State University in 2023. They had gathered for Sunday Mass when extremists attacked the faithful in Marawi City. Their final act was one of worship.
The list also includes Alberto Pinagawa, a lay leader from Cagayan de Oro, murdered in 2009 after opposing illegal mining and logging. His defense of the environment and indigenous communities echoes Pope Francis’ call in Laudato Si’ to care for “our common home,” even at great cost.
In 2023, Pope Francis established a special commission to identify these “new martyrs” — not only priests or religious, but also ordinary believers who remain steadfast in Christ amid violence and injustice. The initiative recognizes that holiness is not limited to sanctuaries; it often flourishes in fields, classrooms, and public squares where faith meets daily struggle.
For Filipino Catholics, the recognition of these seven martyrs is both grief and grace. Their sacrifice reveals that the Gospel’s light still shines in dark places — and that the Church in the Philippines continues to offer not only missionaries, but martyrs, to the universal faith.
November 9 - Mother Church of the Lateran and local saints
In a letter released in 2024, Pope Francis urged dioceses worldwide to commemorate their own saints, blesseds, and candidates for beatification every November 9, as the universal Church is celebrating the "Mother Church" -- the pope's cathedral. This is a reminder of the universal call to holiness, as it has been manifested by our own "neighbors."
The Pope said: "it seems important to me that all particular Churches commemorate the Saints and Blesseds on a single date, as well as the Venerables and Servants of God of their respective territories. It is not a matter of inserting a new memorial into the liturgical calendar, but of promoting with appropriate initiatives outside the liturgy, or of recalling within it, for example in the homily or at another time deemed appropriate, those figures who have characterized the local Christian path and spirituality."
