Pope Leo XIV Canonizes Seven New Saints Including A Former Satanist
Vatican City - Pope Leo XIV proclaimed seven new saints before an estimated 70,000 people in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, October 19, 2025, including the first saints from Venezuela and Papua New Guinea and a former Satanist who became known as an "apostle of the rosary."
The canonization took place during Mass on World Mission Sunday, with the portraits of the new saints displayed on the façade of St. Peter's Basilica throughout the ceremony.
"Today we have before us seven witnesses, the new saints, who with God's grace kept the lamp of faith burning," Pope Leo XIV said in his homily. "Indeed, they themselves became lamps capable of spreading the light of Christ. May their intercession assist us in our trials and their example inspire us in our shared vocation to holiness."
The canonizations, previously approved by the late Pope Francis, were confirmed at a consistory held by Pope Leo XIV on June 13, 2025. The ceremony was attended by the presidents of Italy and Lebanon and official delegations from Venezuela and Armenia.
The Seven New Saints:
St. Bartolo Longo - A 19th-century Italian lawyer who abandoned his Catholic faith for Satanism and became an "ordained" Satanic priest before undergoing one of the most dramatic conversions in recent Church history. After his conversion, Longo dedicated his life to promoting the rosary and built the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii, now one of Italy's most beloved Marian pilgrimage sites.
St. Ignatius Maloyan - An Armenian Catholic archbishop of Mardin in the Ottoman Empire who was executed during the Armenian genocide in 1915 after refusing to convert to Islam. Before his death, Maloyan said: "I consider the shedding of my blood for my faith to be the sweetest desire of my heart. If I am tortured for the love of him who died for me, I will be among those who will have joy and bliss, and I will have obtained to see my Lord and my God."
St. Peter To Rot - A lay catechist martyred in Papua New Guinea during the Japanese occupation in World War II, becoming the country's first saint. To Rot defied Japanese authorities who permitted polygamy, defending Christian marriage until his death. He was murdered at age 33 in 1945 by lethal injection for continuing his pastoral work despite prohibition by occupying forces.
St. José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros - A Venezuelan physician, scientist, and layman revered as "the doctor of the poor." Born in 1864, Hernández became a professor at the Central University of Caracas, where he started each lesson with the sign of the cross. He was killed in an accident in 1919 while on his way to help a patient. He is Venezuela's first male saint.
St. María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez - Born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1903 without her left arm and given a prosthetic arm she used her entire life. After initially being rejected from religious congregations due to her disability, she founded the Servants of Jesus in Caracas in 1965. She died in 1977 and became Venezuela's first female saint.
St. Vincenza Maria Poloni - An Italian foundress who established the Sisters of Mercy of Verona and is remembered for her tireless service to the poor, including at the risk of her life during the cholera epidemic of 1836.
St. Maria Troncatti - An Italian Salesian sister who spent 44 years as a missionary among the Indigenous Shuar people in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest. Known affectionately as "Madrecita" or "little mother," she served as a nurse, surgeon, and catechist with missionary zeal.
After the Litany of the Saints was prayed, Pope Leo XIV pronounced the canonization formula in Latin, greeted by enthusiastic cheers as the crowd waved flags and scarves with images of the new saints while the choir sang the triple Alleluia.
In his homily, Pope Leo XIV reflected on Jesus' question: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" He remarked that this question reveals "what is most precious in the Lord's eyes: faith, namely, the bond of love between God and man."
The Pope emphasized that prayer sustains faith, stating: "Just as breathing sustains the life of the body, so prayer sustains the life of the soul. Faith, in fact, is expressed in prayer, and authentic prayer lives on faith."
Pope Leo XIV described the new saints as "faithful friends of Christ" who are "not heroes or champions of some ideal, but authentic men and women" who were martyrs, evangelizers, missionaries, charismatic founders, and "benefactors of humanity."
On Monday, October 20, Pope Leo XIV told pilgrims that the newly canonized saints are "luminous signs of hope for all of us, because they offered their lives for love of Christ and their brothers and sisters."
During the Mass, readings and prayers were proclaimed in Latin, Greek, Armenian, English, Arabic, Portuguese, and Tok Pisin—the main language of Papua New Guinea.
Pope Leo XIV also made appeals for peace, expressing sorrow over renewed violence in Myanmar and praying for the Holy Land, Ukraine, and other conflict zones.
THE CRUSADERS OPINION
From Satanic priest to Catholic saint. That's Bartolo Longo's story. The man who abandoned Christ for darkness returned with such fire he built one of Italy's greatest Marian shrines. That's grace.
Pope Leo XIV canonized seven saints Sunday. Two were martyrs murdered for refusing to deny Christ. One was an Italian lawyer who worshiped Satan before the rosary saved him. Another was a Venezuelan woman born without an arm who founded a religious order. A doctor of the poor. A missionary called "little mother." A catechist who died defending Christian marriage.
These are Christianity's heroes. Not celebrities. Not politicians. Not influencers. Real men and women who loved Christ more than comfort, more than safety, more than life itself.
St. Ignatius Maloyan faced execution during the Armenian genocide. Convert to Islam or die, they told him. "I consider shedding my blood for my faith the sweetest desire of my heart," he responded. They killed him. Now he's a saint.
St. Peter To Rot defied Japanese occupiers who permitted polygamy in Papua New Guinea. He defended Christian marriage. They murdered him with lethal injection at 33. Papua New Guinea's first saint died protecting what Scripture teaches about marriage. That's courage worth canonizing.
St. Bartolo Longo's story shames comfortable Christians. He fell so far into darkness he became an ordained Satanist. Then Mary's rosary pulled him back. He spent the rest of his life promoting the rosary and built Pompeii's shrine. Satan lost. Mary won.
These saints prove holiness remains possible. Modern Christians claim following Christ is too hard in today's world. Tell that to St. Peter To Rot murdered by occupiers. Tell that to St. Ignatius Maloyan executed for refusing Islam. Tell that to St. Bartolo Longo who clawed his way out of Satanism.
The Church needs more stories like these. Real sanctity. Real sacrifice. Real transformation. Not watered-down Christianity that demands nothing and produces nothing. The canonized saints gave everything. Most modern Christians give almost nothing.
Pope Leo XIV called them "lamps capable of spreading the light of Christ." That's what saints do. They burn. They illuminate darkness. They refuse to be extinguished.
Venezuela got its first two saints. Papua New Guinea got its first saint. The universal Church got seven new intercessors. More importantly, the world got seven more witnesses that following Christ radically still produces saints.
TAKE ACTION: LEARN FROM THE SAINTS
Study their lives: Read about these seven new saints and how they followed Christ heroically
Invoke their intercession: Pray to these saints for help in your spiritual battles
Imitate their example: Ask yourself what radical obedience to Christ looks like in your life
Visit their shrines: If possible, visit the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii built by St. Bartolo Longo
Pray the rosary: Follow St. Bartolo Longo's example and devotion to Mary's rosary
Defend marriage: Like St. Peter To Rot, stand firm on Christian teaching about marriage even when culture opposes it
