An Egyptian bishop who watched the grisly video of 21 Coptic Christians being slain on a beach in Libya said he could see some of them whispering the name of Jesus just before their execution.
According to the Catholic Register, Bishop Antonios Aziz Mina of Giza watched the video of the massacre, which was released by ISIS militants on February 15, and said that instead of spreading terror, it was a testament to the faith of the men who were martyred for Christ. Just before the men were executed, some of the Christians were heard whispering the words, “Lord, Jesus Christ.”
“The name of Jesus was the last word on their lips,” said Bishop Mina. And like the early church martyrs, “they entrusted themselves to the one who would receive them soon after. That name, whispered in the last moments, was like the seal of their martyrdom.”
Bishop Mina is echoing the words of Pope Francis who offered Mass for the slain victims on Tuesday and asked the congregation to join him in prayer for “our brother Copts, whose throats were slit for the sole reason of being Christian, that the Lord welcome them as martyrs . . .”
The killing of the Christians horrified the Coptic population of Egypt, where most of the slain men originated with many parishes offering prayer and fasting for the souls of the victims and comfort for their families.
The Egyptian government called for seven days of national mourning. Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi promised to arrange state funds to finance the construction of a church dedicated to the 21 martyrs in the Egyptian city of Minya from where many of the victims hailed.
“In addition, by presidential decree, the victims’ families will receive financial compensation for the death of their loved ones (about $13,000), as well as a monthly stipend. The families are asking that the remains of their loved ones be returned to Egypt for burial,” the Register reports.
The Catholic community in Libya was shaken by the massacre, but remains steadfast even though authorities in the country are advising them to leave.
“Few of us remain,” said Latin-rite Bishop Giovanni Martinelli of Tripoli, Libya to Fides News.
Most of those still living in Tripoli are Philippine nurses who are staying to tend to the dire medical needs of the city.
“It is for them that I remain,” the bishop said. “At this time, the situation is calm, but we do not know how things will evolve. Anyway, as I have said many times, so long as there is one Christian here, I will remain.”
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