MIRACULOUS MIRACLES™

The Roll of the Martyrs

One by one

The Roll of the Martyrs

Every martyr with a full profile in the catalogue — 224 of them — in the order of their witness. Click any name for their life.

The Ancient Martyrs (to AD 1000) · 123

  • Isaiah the Prophet — Sawn in two under the apostate King Manasseh, per Jewish tradition (Martyrdom of Isaiah), c. 681 BC
  • Ezekiel the Prophet — Killed in Babylon by a prince of the exiles he had rebuked for idolatry, per tradition, c. 570 BC
  • The Holy Innocents of Bethlehem — Male infants of Bethlehem slain by order of Herod the Great, c. 4-2 BC — the first martyrs of the Christian era
  • Sts. Zechariah and Elizabeth — Zechariah, per tradition, martyred at the Jerusalem Temple during Herod's massacre of the Innocents; Elizabeth's death uncertain
  • St. John the Baptist — Beheaded by Herod Antipas at the fortress of Machaerus at the request of Salome, c. AD 28/29
  • St. Stephen the Protomartyr — Stoned to death outside the gates of Jerusalem after his trial before the Sanhedrin, c. AD 34 — the first martyr
  • St. James the Greater — Killed with the sword (beheaded) in Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
  • St. Longinus — Martyred at Caesarea in Cappadocia after preaching the Gospel there, per tradition
  • The Seven Deacons of Acts 6 — Venerated as foundational martyrs of the diaconal ministry; died in various locations across the eastern Mediterranean, late 1st century
  • St. Andrew the Apostle — Crucified at Patras by the Roman proconsul Aegeas, traditionally on an X-shaped cross, c. 60
  • St. Barnabas the Apostle — Stoned to death by a hostile mob at Salamis, Cyprus, and his body burned, c. AD 61
  • St. James the Less — Thrown from the Temple parapet, stoned, and killed with a fuller's club in Jerusalem, c. AD 62
  • St. Peter the Apostle — Crucified head downward in Rome under Nero, c. 64-67
  • St. Jude Thaddeus — Beaten to death with a club in Persia, together with Simon the Zealot
  • St. Simon the Zealot — Sawed in two in Persia, martyred together with Jude Thaddeus
  • St. Photina the Samaritan — Per Byzantine tradition, martyred at Rome under Nero, c. 66
  • St. Mark the Evangelist — Dragged through the streets of Alexandria by a rope around his neck, c. AD 68
  • St. Bartholomew the Apostle — Flayed alive and beheaded by King Astyages of Armenia
  • St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist — Martyred at the altar while celebrating Mass in Ethiopia (traditional)
  • Sts. Philemon and Apphia — Per tradition, martyred with their household at Colossae under Nero for refusing pagan worship of the Cybele cult
  • St. Cleopas — Per tradition, martyred at Jerusalem during the post-AD 70 Jewish-Christian persecutions
  • St. Thomas the Apostle — Pierced with a lance while at prayer at Mylapore, India, AD 72
  • Sts. Aquila and Priscilla — Traditionally martyred at Rome under Nero or shortly after, late 1st century
  • Pope St. Linus — Martyred at Rome, c. AD 76
  • St. Philip the Apostle — Martyred at Hierapolis in Phrygia, traditionally by crucifixion, c. 80
  • Pope St. Anacletus (Cletus) — Martyred at Rome, c. AD 92
  • St. Onesimus — Traditionally martyred at Rome under Trajan (or possibly at Puteoli), c. 95
  • St. Timothy — Stoned to death by a pagan mob during a procession of Artemis at Ephesus, c. AD 97, per tradition
  • St. Clement of Rome — Drowned with an anchor tied around his neck at Chersonesus under Trajan, c. 99
  • St. Ignatius of Antioch — Killed by lions in the Colosseum at Rome under Trajan, c. 107
  • St. Symeon of Jerusalem — Crucified at Jerusalem after prolonged torture under Trajan, c. 107
  • Pope St. Evaristus — Traditionally martyred at Rome, c. 108; specific circumstances unrecorded
  • Pope St. Alexander I — Martyred at Rome under Hadrian (per tradition), c. 115
  • Pope St. Sixtus I — Martyred at Rome under Hadrian (per tradition), c. 125
  • St. Quadratus of Athens — Martyred at Magnesia on the Maeander (per Eastern tradition), c. 129
  • St. Papias of Hierapolis — Presumed martyr per his entry; died at Hierapolis, c. 130, circumstances unrecorded
  • St. Symphorosa and Her Seven Sons — Beaten and drowned in the Anio River at Tivoli under Hadrian; her seven sons executed at seven stakes the next day, c. 138
  • Pope St. Telesphorus — Martyred at Rome under Hadrian, c. 138 (attested by Irenaeus); circumstances unrecorded
  • Pope St. Hyginus — Martyred at Rome, c. 142 (per the Liber Pontificalis); no circumstances known
  • St. Polycarp of Smyrna — Burned at the stake at Smyrna; when the flames refused to consume him, stabbed through with a dagger, c. 155
  • St. Justin Martyr — Beheaded at Rome with six companions under Marcus Aurelius after refusing to sacrifice, c. 165
  • St. Felicitas of Rome with Her Seven Sons — Beheaded at Rome under Marcus Aurelius after the martyrdom of her seven sons, c. 165
  • Sts. Ptolemy and Lucius — Executed at Rome after trial before the urban prefect Lollius Urbicus, c. 165
  • Sts. Pothinus and Blandina with the Martyrs of Lyon — Martyred at Lyon under Marcus Aurelius — Pothinus beaten to death, Blandina tortured and killed in the amphitheatre, 177
  • St. Cecilia — Struck three times by the executioner's sword; died three days later in Rome, c. 230
  • The Scillitan Martyrs — Beheaded at Carthage after trial before proconsul Vigellius Saturninus, July 17, 180
  • St. Apollonius the Apologist — Beheaded at Rome after condemnation by the Senate under Commodus, c. 185
  • Pope St. Victor I — Martyred under Emperor Septimius Severus (per tradition), c. 199
  • St. Irenaeus of Lyon — Venerated as a martyr by ancient tradition; died at Lyon, c. 202
  • Sts. Perpetua and Felicity — Exposed to a wild heifer and killed by the sword in the amphitheatre of Carthage, March 7, 203
  • Pope St. Zephyrinus — Traditionally counted among the martyrs; died at Rome, December 20, 217, circumstances unrecorded
  • Pope St. Callixtus I — Martyred — by tradition thrown down a well in Trastevere, 222
  • Pope St. Urban I — Traditionally counted a martyr; died at Rome and buried in the catacombs of Praetextatus, 230
  • St. Hippolytus of Rome — Died a martyr in exile in the Sardinian mines under Maximinus Thrax, c. 235
  • St. Apollonia of Alexandria — Teeth knocked out by a mob at Alexandria under Decius; threw herself into the pyre rather than apostatize, 249
  • Pope St. Fabian — Arrested and martyred in Rome under Decius, January 20, 250
  • St. Denis of Paris — Decapitated at Montmartre with companions Rusticus and Eleutherius under Decius, c. 250
  • St. Saturninus of Toulouse — Dragged to death tied to a maddened sacrificial bull through the streets of Toulouse, c. 250
  • St. Christina of Bolsena — After surviving many tortures, shot through the heart with two arrows at Bolsena, c. 250
  • St. Mercurius — Beheaded at Caesarea Cappadocia after extended torture under Decius, c. 250
  • Sts. Anatolia and Victoria — Sisters martyred in Sabine exile under the Decian persecution — Anatolia killed by the executioner Audax, Victoria stabbed in the heart, c. 250
  • St. Agatha of Sicily — Tortured to death (breasts cut off, rolled over burning coals) in Catania under the Decian persecution, 251
  • St. Christopher — Martyred in Lycia during the Decian persecution, c. 251
  • St. Nestor of Magydus — Crucified at Perga during the Decian persecution, February 251
  • Pope St. Cornelius — Died a martyr in exile at Centumcellae (Civitavecchia) under Emperor Gallus, 253
  • St. Tarcisius — Beaten and stoned to death on the Appian Way while carrying the Eucharist, c. 257
  • St. Cyprian of Carthage — Beheaded near Carthage under Valerian, September 14, 258
  • St. Lawrence the Deacon — Roasted alive on a gridiron in Rome under Valerian, 258
  • Pope St. Sixtus II — Beheaded with four deacons while celebrating Mass in the Catacomb of Pretextatus under Valerian, 258
  • St. Valentine — Beaten and beheaded on the Via Flaminia under Claudius II
  • St. Mamas of Caesarea — Stabbed with a trident in prison at Caesarea Cappadocia during the Aurelian persecution, c. 275
  • Sts. Crispin and Crispinian — Tortured and beheaded at Soissons under Maximian, c. 285
  • St. Maurice and the Theban Legion — Executed with the Theban Legion at Agaunum by order of Maximian after refusing pagan sacrifice, c. 286
  • Sts. Cosmas and Damian — Tortured and beheaded under Diocletian, c. 287
  • St. Sebastian — Shot with arrows, survived, then beaten to death with clubs under Diocletian, c. 288
  • St. George — Beheaded at Lydda after many tortures under Diocletian, 303
  • St. Genesius of Arles — Beheaded by Roman soldiers on the bank of the Rhône at Arles under the Diocletianic edicts, c. 303
  • St. Vitus — Killed by being stretched on the rack under Diocletian after surviving the cauldron of boiling oil, c. 303
  • Sts. Sergius and Bacchus — Bacchus scourged to death and Sergius beheaded at Resafa, Syria, c. 303
  • St. Expeditus — Beheaded at Melitene in the persecution of Diocletian, c. 303 (traditional)
  • St. Erasmus (St. Elmo) — Died at Formia after imprisonment and torture in the Diocletianic persecution
  • St. Agnes of Rome — Killed by a sword-stroke at the throat in Rome under Diocletian, c. 304
  • St. Lucy of Syracuse — Killed by a sword-stroke at the throat in Syracuse under Diocletian, 304
  • St. Pancras of Rome — Beheaded at fourteen on the Via Aurelia, Rome, in the Diocletianic persecution, 304
  • Pope St. Marcellinus — Martyred at Rome (per the traditional account) after public penance for his lapse, October 25, 304
  • St. Vincent of Saragossa — Died at Valencia after prolonged tortures (rack, red-hot iron combs, gridiron) under the governor Dacian, January 22, 304
  • St. Eulalia of Mérida — Burned alive at the stake at Mérida under the Diocletianic persecution, December 10, 304
  • St. Florian of Lorch — Drowned in the Enns River with a millstone tied around his neck at Lorch, May 4, 304
  • St. Cyriacus the Deacon — Beheaded with three companions on the Via Salaria, Rome, c. 304
  • St. Philomena — Martyred at Rome, c. 304 (traditional); tomb emblems read as instruments of her attempted executions
  • St. Margaret of Antioch (St. Marina) — Beheaded at Antioch in Pisidia in the Diocletianic persecution, by her acts
  • Sts. Nereus and Achilleus — Beheaded at Rome; two soldiers who, in Pope Damasus's words, laid down their arms when they turned to Christ
  • St. Catherine of Alexandria — Beheaded in Alexandria under Maxentius after the wheel shattered, c. 305
  • St. Pantaleon (Panteleimon) — Beheaded at Nicomedia in the Diocletianic persecution, after the failure of several attempts on his life
  • St. Januarius (San Gennaro) — Beheaded near the Solfatara of Pozzuoli with his deacons and companions in the persecution of Diocletian
  • St. Barbara — Beheaded by her own father Dioscorus at Nicomedia after torture, c. 306
  • St. Demetrius of Thessalonica — Pierced with multiple spears in his prison cell at Thessalonica under Maximian, c. 306
  • St. Theodore of Amasea — Burned alive in a public furnace at Amasea after torture, c. 306
  • Sts. Adrian and Natalia — Adrian's hands and feet severed before beheading at Nicomedia, March 4, 306 (Natalia died in peace c. 311)
  • St. Methodius of Olympus — Martyred at Chalcis or Patara in the late phase of the Great Diocletianic Persecution, c. 311
  • St. Blaise — Torn with iron wool-combs and beheaded at Sebaste under the persecution of Licinius
  • The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste — Forced to stand naked overnight on a frozen lake at Sebaste, then clubbed and beheaded, c. 320
  • Pope St. John I — Died in prison at Ravenna under Theodoric, by tradition of starvation, 526
  • Pope St. Silverius — Deposed and starved to death in exile on the island of Palmaria, 537
  • St. Hermenegild — Executed at Tarragona on Easter Sunday 586 for refusing Communion from an Arian bishop
  • St. Anastasius the Persian — Strangled and beheaded at Bithragar, Persia, under King Khosrow II, January 22, 628
  • St. Dymphna — Beheaded by her own father's sword at Geel after refusing his incestuous demand, c. 640
  • Pope St. Martin I — Arrested, tried and exiled by the Emperor Constans II for condemning Monothelitism; died of hunger and neglect at Cherson, 655 — the last pope venerated as a martyr
  • St. Wenefride — Beheaded at Holywell by the nobleman Caradoc for refusing his advances, c. 660 (per tradition restored to life by St. Beuno, dying finally c. 682)
  • St. Theodard of Maastricht — Murdered by noble retainers in a forest near Speyer while defending church property, 670
  • St. Killian — Beheaded with his companions at Würzburg by assassins sent by Geilana, 689
  • St. Lambert of Maastricht — Killed at his villa at Liège in revenge for rebuking Pepin of Herstal's affair, c. 705
  • St. Boniface of Mainz — Killed with fifty-three companions by a pagan war-band at Dokkum, Frisia, 754
  • St. Stephen the New — Tortured and lynched by an imperial mob in the streets of Constantinople under Constantine V, 764
  • St. Bacchus the Younger — Beheaded at Jerusalem as a convert from Islam
  • St. Perfectus of Córdoba — Beheaded at Córdoba under the emirate
  • St. Eulogius of Córdoba — Beheaded at Córdoba with the convert Leocritia for refusing to deny Christ, 859
  • St. Leocritia of Córdoba — Beheaded at Córdoba, days after St. Eulogius
  • St. Edmund the Martyr — Scourged, shot full of arrows, and beheaded by the Vikings for refusing to renounce Christ, 869
  • St. Ludmilla of Bohemia — Strangled with her own veil at Tetín Castle by retainers of Drahomíra, 921
  • St. Wenceslas of Bohemia — Killed by his brother Boleslav and his retainers at the church door of Stará Boleslav, 935
  • St. Edward the Martyr — Stabbed to death at Corfe Castle
  • St. Adalbert of Prague — Killed by Prussian priests at Truso — by tradition speared seven times after Mass, 997

The Medieval Martyrs (1000–1500) · 14

The Early Modern Martyrs (1500–1800) · 32

  • St. Antonio Primaldo — Beheaded first of the 813 on the Hill of Minerva, refusing to deny Christ
  • St. John Houghton — Hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn for refusing to deny papal authority, 1535
  • St. John Fisher — Beheaded on Tower Hill under Henry VIII, 1535
  • Bl. Margaret Pole — Beheaded on Tower Hill under Henry VIII (a botched execution requiring eleven blows), 1541
  • St. Nicholas Pieck — Hanged in a turf-shed at Brielle by the Calvinist Watergeuzen
  • St. Cuthbert Mayne — Hanged, drawn, and quartered at Launceston market square, 1577
  • St. Edmund Campion — Hanged, cut down alive, disembowelled, beheaded, and quartered at Tyburn, 1581
  • St. Robert Southwell — Hanged, cut down alive, disembowelled, and quartered at Tyburn, 1595
  • Sts. Paul Miki and Companions — Crucified with 25 companions (lances raised by executioners) at Nishizaka Hill, Nagasaki, 1597
  • St. Anne Line — Hanged at Tyburn for harbouring priests, 1601
  • St. Nicholas Owen — Died under torture, suspended by iron gauntlets in the Tower of London, 1606
  • St. John Ogilvie — Hanged at Glasgow Cross for refusing to renounce papal authority, 1615
  • St. Josaphat Kuncewicz — Killed with an axe to the head by an Orthodox mob at Vitebsk, 1623
  • St. Roque González de Santa Cruz — Killed with a stone axe at the altar of the Caaró Reduction, 1628
  • St. Magdalena of Nagasaki — Died suspended head-down over the pit (tsurushi) at Nishizaka Hill, Nagasaki, 1634; her body was burned
  • St. Lawrence Ruiz — Executed by tsurushi (suspended head-down over a pit) at Nishizaka Hill, Nagasaki, 1637
  • St. René Goupil — Killed with a tomahawk at Ossernenon after making the sign of the cross over a Mohawk infant, 1642
  • St. Henry Morse — Executed at Tyburn for being a Catholic priest, 1645
  • St. André de Soveral — Cut down at the altar at Sunday Mass in the massacre of Cunhaú
  • St. Isaac Jogues — Struck down with a tomahawk at Ossernenon (Auriesville, New York) by a Mohawk of the Bear clan, October 18, 1646
  • St. Jean de Lalande — Killed by Mohawks at Ossernenon while trying to recover Isaac Jogues's body, 1646
  • St. Antoine Daniel — Killed by arquebus and arrow at the chapel door of Teanaustaye while covering his congregation's escape, 1648
  • St. Jean de Brébeuf — Tortured to death at the stake by Iroquois warriors at Saint-Ignace, Huronia, 1649
  • St. Gabriel Lalemant — Killed by tomahawk after seventeen hours of Iroquois torture at Saint-Ignace, Huronia, 1649
  • St. Charles Garnier — Shot twice by arquebus and struck by tomahawk while baptizing during the Iroquois attack on Étarita, 1649
  • St. Noël Chabanel — Killed on the trail near Christian Island, Huronia, by an apostate Huron, 1649
  • St. Andrew Bobola — Tortured for two days and hacked apart by Cossacks at Janów Poleski, 1657
  • St. Pedro Calungsod — Killed by spear thrust and machete blow at Tomhom Bay, Guam, 1672
  • St. John de Britto — Beheaded at Oriyur, Madurai, on the king of Marava's orders, 1693
  • St. Cosmas of Aetolia — Beheaded by Ottoman provincial authorities at Kolkondas, Albania, 1779
  • The Carmelites of Compiègne — Sixteen Discalced Carmelites guillotined at the Place du Trône-Renversé, Paris, 1794
  • Bl. Pierre-René Rogue — Guillotined at Vannes as a refractory priest of the French Revolution, 1796

The Modern Martyrs (1800–today) · 55