Vatican City: The Vatican’s Commission of New Martyrs Witnesses of the Faith has raised the possibility that two young children killed in last month’s tragic Minneapolis church shooting may one day be remembered among the “new martyrs” of the Catholic Church. The commission, established by Pope Francis in 2023, is currently compiling an extensive archive of Christian faithful who have died in recent decades as a direct result of hatred toward the faith.
The victims, 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, were killed during a school Mass on August 27 at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Their sudden and brutal deaths shocked the local Catholic community and have since stirred wider conversations within the global Church about the nature of martyrdom in today’s world. Some have asked whether their killing qualifies as being “in odium fidei” in hatred of the faith a classification that has historically been used to define martyrdom.
Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Vatican commission, explained during a press briefing on Monday that while the criteria for the commission’s catalog differ from the formal requirements of canonization, the children’s case could indeed be considered. “If the diocese or other local ecclesial entities present these figures to us as witnesses of the faith, we will examine them and see if we can include them in the list,” Fabene said. He stressed that inclusion in the catalog does not equal formal recognition as martyrs by the Church, but rather preserves their memory in an official record of witnesses who died amid faith-linked violence.
Andrea Riccardi, vice president of the commission and founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, highlighted the broader purpose of this work. “Our mission is to preserve stories and names in the heart of the Church, so that their memory is not lost,” Riccardi said. He clarified that the project is historical and pastoral, not juridical: “Inclusion on the commission’s list of new martyrs does not amount to beatification. It is a way to safeguard their testimony.”
The commission’s reflection on the Minneapolis tragedy came in response to questions posed during the announcement of an upcoming ecumenical prayer service to be led by Pope Leo XIV on September 14 at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The gathering will honor martyrs and witnesses of the 21st century and will coincide with both the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the pope’s 70th birthday. Representatives from 24 Christian denominations, including Metropolitan Anthony Sevryuk of the Russian Orthodox Church, will take part in the liturgy, underscoring its ecumenical spirit.
The Vatican commission has already documented more than 1,640 Christian men, women, and children killed in the first quarter of the 21st century across different regions marked by persecution, terrorism, and conflict. Pope Francis has consistently underlined the urgency of this work, reminding the Church that martyrs today are “more numerous than in the early centuries.” He has charged the commission with finalizing its updated catalog ahead of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, ensuring that contemporary testimonies of faith are not forgotten.
For the families of Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel, and for the Catholic community in Minneapolis, the Vatican’s consideration offers both solace and recognition. While the process does not confer sainthood, it affirms that the children’s lives and deaths bear witness to faith in a way that the universal Church seeks to honor and remember. As Riccardi summed up, “The heart of this work is memory. As St. John Paul II said, the names of those who died for their faith should not be lost.”