Pope: persecuted Christians are not failures, they save the world

Angelus on the feast of St. Stephen. Francis' closeness to the many Christian communities suffering discrimination: "I urge them to persevere in charity toward all by peacefully struggling for justice and religious freedom."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The persecuted Christians in the world are not failures. “The seed of their sacrifices, which seems to die, sprouts to bear fruit, because God through them continues to work wonders, change hearts and save men”.

This was Pope Francis' message today, recalling during the Angelus prayer on the feast of Saint Stephen the many Christians who even today suffer violence and acts of hostility in the world.

“I am close to the Christian communities who suffer discrimination – said the pontiff, addressing the faithful present in St. Peter's Square from the window of his study – and I urge them to persevere in charity towards everyone, fighting peacefully for justice and religious freedom”.

Recalling the passage from the Acts of the Apostles which recounts the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, Pope Francis invited us to remember how that text places the persecuted alongside his persecutor, Saul.

“Beyond appearances – he commented – there is something stronger that unites them: through Stephen's testimony, in fact, the Lord is already preparing in Saul's heart, without his knowledge, the conversion that will lead him to be the great Apostle Paul. Stephen, his service, his prayer and the faith he announces, especially his forgiveness at the point of death, are not in vain. They seem to end in nothing, but in reality his sacrifice launches a seed which, running in the opposite direction to the stones, is planted, in a hidden way, in the chest of his worst rival, to transform his heart of stone into a heart of flesh".

And this is what happens today too. The persecution against Christians continues – Francis recalled – “there are and are many those who suffer and die to bear witness to Jesus, just as there are those who are penalized at various levels for behaving in a manner consistent with the Gospel, and those he struggles every day to remain faithful, without fuss, to his good duties, while the world laughs at him and preaches something else. Even these brothers and sisters may seem like failures, but today we see that this is not the case."

Even today their blood becomes seed for the world. Hence the invitation to everyone to ask themselves: "Do I care and pray for those who, in various parts of the world, still suffer and die for their faith today? And in turn, do I try to bear witness to the Gospel with coherence, with meekness and with trust? Do I believe that the seed of good will bear fruit even if I don't see immediate results?”.

Even today - finally - Pope Francis did not fail to entrust the people torn apart by war in Gaza, in tormented Ukraine and in every other corner of the world to the intercession of Saint Stephen.