16 martyrs who were killed by the Nazi and Soviet regimes are on the road to sainthood.
This comes as a result of Pope Francis' meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the head of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
One of the martyrs is a German priest, Fr. Max Josef Metzger, who was beheaded in Germany in 1944 for openly speaking out against Hitler and rejecting the Nazi regime.
The meeting also resulted in Pope Francis officially recognizing three miracles attributed to
people, who will now be on the road to beatification. Pope Francis also named seven new Venerables.
Among these is Mother Mary Alphonsa Hawthorne of the United States who died in 1926. She founded the Dominican Sisters of Saint Rose of Lima and was known for serving impoverished cancer patients.
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