Seven years ago, 21 Coptic Christians were killed in Libya. The images of their murder were broadcast worldwide.
Last year, Pope Francis remembered their testimony of faith.
POPE FRANCIS
And these men bore witness to Jesus Christ. Their throats slit by the brutality of Isis, they died saying, 'Lord Jesus!', confessing the name of Jesus.
In 2019, Dr. Martin Mosebach, an award-winning German author, released a book on the story of the 21 martyrs.
DR. MARTIN MOSEBACH
Author of the book on the 21 martyrs
They were very modest people. They were illiterate people, sons of poor peasants and poor farmers in upper Egypt. And nobody would care for their names and they were just the 21. And so I wanted to give them a face, everybody, [all] of them.
All 21 men were Christian and in Libya working to provide for their families.
Dr. Mosebach says that when he met with the families of the martyrs, he saw that they were not focused on the injustice of the murder, but on the gift of having martyrs in Heaven.
DR. MARTIN MOSEBACH
Author of the book on the 21 martyrs
The people were not interested in the fact of the crime. The people were not interested in the murders. Not at all. They looked with pride to their representatives in Heaven.
More important was the pride and the trust in the intercedence of the new saints.
Through writing this book and learning about the stories of the martyrs, Dr. Mosebach said he understands Tertullian's belief that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity.
DR. MARTIN MOSEBACH
Author of the book on the 21 martyrs
I understood that martyrdom is far from being a scandal. It's something essential for the Church. Martyrdom is the secret of the success of the Church.
Church nowadays is in a crisis, [it] seems to be. For me, it was clear that as long as people are ready to die for the faith, [the] Church will be safe.
The memory of these 21 men will be in the hearts and prayers of their families and in the minds of those who read their story.
KG
