Pope Francis said Thursday that the Coptic Orthodox martyrs killed by ISIS in 2015 will be added to the Catholic Church’s official list of saints. He also received a relic of the martyrs’ blood as a ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is formally recognizing 21 Coptic Orthodox workers who were beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya as martyrs with their own feast day, in a significant new ecumenical ...

The relics of 21 Coptic martyrs killed by ISIS in Libya will be venerated in St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday evening at an ecumenical prayer service marking their first official feast day in the ...

ROME – For those with ears to hear, every so often it’s actually possible to detect the sound of history’s tectonic plates as they shift. Such was the case Thursday, with a remarkable gesture by Pope ...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has continued his predecessors’ serious commitment to ecumenical dialogue, but he also makes ecumenical gestures that underline that seriousness. During his formal ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis and the Coptic Orthodox pope, Tawadros II, delivered a joint blessing Wednesday from St. Peter’s Square in a significant ecumenical gesture to commemorate the 50th ...

Pope Francis and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II pose for a photo with Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and the delegation that accompanied Pope Tawadros to ...

The 21 men were beheaded by ISIS on a beach in Libya on Feb. 15, 2015; the Pope received a relic of the martyrs’ blood as a gift from the Coptic Orthodox Church. Pope Francis receives relics of the ...