Rome (Italy). March 24, 2026, the day commemorating the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador on 24 March 1980, marks the 34th World Day of Missionary Martyrs. His commitment to the Salvadoran people in their struggle against a regime indifferent to the plight of the weakest and workers, combined with his witness of authentic Christian life, attentive to the Word of God and at the same time so close and attentive to the most vulnerable and courageous, have made him a point of reference.
This anniversary therefore invites us to remember those who have given their lives in service and in the Gospel and to recognize the living and active presence of witnesses who have chosen to bring the Gospel to places where life and human dignity are most threatened.
The theme for the 2026 World Missionary Martyrs Day, “People of Spring,” draws inspiration from the Message for World Mission Day 2025, in which Pope Francis recalled that mission is a community effort; the entire Church is called to continue Christ’s mission. Overcoming difficulties and weaknesses, she is impelled by Christ’s love to walk in unity with Him and to take up, together with Him, the cry rising from humanity: “We are baptized in the redemptive death and resurrection of Christ, in the Lord’s Easter which marks the eternal springtime of history. We are therefore “people of spring,” with a gaze always full of hope to share with everyone because we believe in Christ and know that death and hatred are not the last words on human existence.”
At the end of the Jubilee dedicated to hope, the Agency Fides, the Pontifical Mission Societies’ information agency has published its 2025 annual report on murdered Catholic missionaries and pastoral workers.
In 2025, 17 missionaries were killed worldwide: priests, nuns, seminarians, and lay people. The continental breakdown shows that the highest number of pastoral workers killed in the year was recorded in Africa, where 10 missionaries were murdered (6 priests, 2 seminarians, 2 catechists). In the American Continent, 4 missionaries were killed (2 priests, 2 nuns), and in Asia, 2 (1 priest, 1 lay person). In Europe, 1 priest was killed.
From 2000 to 2025, the total number of missionaries and pastoral workers killed was 626, a figure that is unfortunately already increasing due to recent conflicts. “These brothers and sisters may seem like failures, but today we see that this is not the case. Now, as then, the seed of their sacrifices, which seems to die, sprouts and bears fruit, because through them, God continues to work wonders, to change hearts and save people” (Pope Francis, 26 December 2023, liturgical feast of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr).
Fides’ annual list does not only concern missionaries ad gentes in the strict sense, but seeks to record all Catholic Christians involved in pastoral work in some way who died violently, even if not explicitly “out of hatred for the faith.” For this reason, the report does not use the term “martyrs,” except in its etymological sense of “witnesses.”
Pope Leo XIV, in his Message on the 10th Anniversary of the Beatification of the Martyrs of Chimbote (Peru) on 6 December 2025, wrote: “The blood of the martyrs was not shed in the service of personal plans or ideas, but as a unique offering of love to the Lord and His people. Today, in the face of the pastoral and cultural challenges facing the Church, the memory of the missionary martyrs demands of us a decisive step, to return to Jesus Christ as the measure of our choices, our words, and our priorities. To return to Him with that steadfastness of heart that does not retreat, even when fidelity to the Gospel demands the gift of one’s life. Only when He is the point of reference does the mission find its proper form. […] I exhort the communities that welcomed these martyrs to continue today the mission for which they gave their lives, that of proclaiming Jesus with word and deed, preserving the faith amid difficulties, humbly serving the most vulnerable, and keeping hope alive even when reality becomes arduous.”
In celebrating this day, our thoughts and prayers go to the many missionaries who, in every corner of the world, bear witness to and proclaim Jesus Christ and His Gospel with simplicity, but also with strength and courage. Their fraternal presence alongside the people and communities they are called to serve instills confidence and nourishes hope in the Kingdom of God.
At this link of Fondazione Missio (CEI) can be found material to animate the Day and useful aids for animating celebratory times during Lent.
