“Let us make the world a better place”: Little Abish from Pakistan and 21st century martyrs

During the ecumenical celebration at St Paul's Outside the Walls in honour of the 1,624 Christians of all denominations who gave their lives for the Gospel in the first 25 years of this century, Pope Leo XIV quoted the words of a child who died at the age of 10 among the victims of the Youhanabad massacre on 15 March 2025. ‘Although they were killed in body, no one can silence their voices or erase the love they gave.’

Rome (AsiaNews) - ‘Abish Masih, a Pakistani child killed in an attack against the Catholic Church, had written in his notebook: “Making the world a better place”. May this child's dream spur us to bear courageous witness to our faith, so that together we may be the leaven of a peaceful and fraternal humanity.’

Among the 1,624 faces of the new martyrs of the 21st century – recorded by the Commission for New Martyrs and Witnesses of the Faith, established on the occasion of the Jubilee – Pope Leo XIV, in the celebration dedicated to them held on Sunday 14 September in Rome, wanted to expressly mention the testimony of one of the youngest, little Abish, one of the 15 victims of the terrible attacks of 15 March 2015 in which the Pakistani Taliban struck two churches - one Catholic and the other Evangelical - in Youhanabad, the large Christian neighbourhood in the city of Lahore.

Concluding his homily during the ecumenical celebration held in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the pontiff quoted the words written by this child, who attended the School of Peace promoted in Lahore by the Community of Sant'Egidio.

The notebook referred to by the Pope is now kept among the relics of the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Tiber Island, the Roman church that has for some years now become the sanctuary of the martyrs of the 20th and 21st centuries.

On 15 March 2016, Abish was on the lawn in front of the church. "Perhaps he was playing or waiting to enter Mass. Shortly afterwards, he died in hospital, killed simply because he was a Christian," his parents told friends from the Community of Sant'Egidio.

In the same attack in Youhanabad that day, Akash Bashir, a 21-year-old student of the Salesians, also died. He courageously chose to stop the suicide bomber with his body to prevent him from entering the church of St John and causing even more victims.

With his sacrifice, he saved the lives of many people, and for this reason, the Catholic Church in Pakistan has promoted the cause of beatification for his martyrdom, which, having completed the diocesan phase, is currently being examined by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

As happened ten years ago in Youhanabad, in many other circumstances in these first 25 years of the 21st century, Christians of different denominations have died together for their fidelity to the Gospel. For this reason, the Pope wanted to celebrate them in Rome together with representatives of other Christian Churches and denominations in an ecumenical liturgy centred on the Crucifix.

‘Many brothers and sisters, even today, because of their witness of faith in difficult situations and hostile contexts, carry the same cross as the Lord,’ recalled Leo XIV in his homily during the celebration at St Paul's Outside the Walls. "Like Him, they are persecuted, condemned and killed. They are women and men, religious and lay people, priests, who pay with their lives for their fidelity to the Gospel, their commitment to justice, their struggle for religious freedom where it is still violated, and their solidarity with the poorest.‘

In the context of the Holy Year, the Pope invited us to celebrate ’the hope of these courageous witnesses of faith. It is a hope full of immortality,‘ he commented, ’because their martyrdom continues to spread the Gospel in a world marked by hatred, violence and war; it is a hope full of immortality because, even though they have been killed in body, no one can silence their voice or erase the love they have given; it is a hope full of immortality, because their testimony remains as a prophecy of the victory of good over evil.‘

Finally, recalling the image of the ’ecumenism of blood," referred to several times by Pope Francis and the Synod, Leo XIV emphasised the profound message of unity that comes from these figures. ‘The witness of their martyrdom,’ he concluded, ‘is more eloquent than any words: unity comes from the Cross of the Lord. May the blood of so many witnesses bring closer the blessed day when we will drink from the same cup of salvation.’

• Jubilee 2025
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