STORY: Pope Leo declared on Sunday (October 19) seven new saints of the Roman Catholic Church, including a former follower of a satanic cult and an Armenian bishop killed for refusing to abandon his faith.

During a ceremony held in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff read the canonisation proclamations, after Cardinal Marcello Semeraro told the stories of each of the seven saints.

Among the new saints is Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer who used to practice satanic rites before converting to Catholicism and becoming a prominent promoter of the Rosary.

The Armenian Catholic archbishop Ignatius Maloyan was also canonised. He was executed in 1915 after he refused to convert to Islam during mass deportations under the Ottoman Empire.

The other new saints are Pedro To Rot, Vincenza Maria Poloni, Carmen Rendiles Martinez, Maria Troncatti and Jose Gregorio Hernandez Cisneros.

"Not heroes or champions of some ideal, but authentic men and women," the pope said about the saints during the ceremony, which was also attended by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: VATICAN CITY (OCTOBER 19, 2025) (VATICAN MEDIA - Access All)

1.⁠ ⁠TAPESTRIES DEPICTING NEW SAINTS HANGING FROM ST. PETER’S BASILICA FRONT BALCONIES

2. POPE LEO WALKING TO ALTAR

3. CEREMONY ONGOING

4. POPE LEADING CEREMONY

5. PEOPLE IN ST PETER’S SQUARE

6.⁠ ⁠PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS, CARDINAL MARCELLO SEMERARO, SPEAKING IN FRONT OF POPE

7. SEMERARO SPEAKING

8.⁠ ⁠TAPESTRY DEPICTING NEW SAINT, IGNATIUS MALOYAN

9. CEREMONY IN PROGRESS

10.⁠ ⁠SEMERARO SPEAKING

11.⁠ ⁠TAPESTRY DEPICTING NEW SAINT, PEDRO TO RO

12.⁠ ⁠PEOPLE IN SQUARE

13.⁠ TAPESTRY DEPICTING NEW SAINT, JOSE GREGORIO HERNANDEZ CISNEROS

14.⁠ ⁠SEMERARO SPEAKING

15.⁠ ⁠TAPESTRY DEPICTING NEW SAINT, BARTOLO LONGO

16. CLERGYMEN

17.⁠ ⁠(SOUNDBITE) (Latin) POPE LEO SAYING:

"By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own, after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother Bishops, we declare and define the blessed martyrs Ignatius Maloyan and Pedro To Ro, and also the blessed Vincenza Maria Poloni, Maria Carmen Rendiles Martinez, Maria Troncatti, Jose Gregorio Hernandez Cisneros and Bartolomeo Longo, and we enrol them among the Saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole Church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

18.⁠ ⁠TAPESTRIES DEPICTING NEW SAINTS

19. TAPESTRY DEPICTING NEW SAINT, VINCENZA MARIA POLONI

20. TAPESTRY DEPICTING NEW SAINT, CARMEN RENDILES MARTINEZ

21. TAPESTRY DEPICTING NEW SAINT, MARIA TRONCATTI

22.⁠ ⁠(SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

“Before us stand seven witnesses, the new saints, who, with God's grace, kept the lamp of faith burning. Indeed, they themselves became lamps capable of spreading the light of Christ.”

23.⁠ ⁠TAPESTRIES DEPICTING NEW SAINTS

24.⁠ ⁠(SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

“Not heroes or champions of some ideal, but authentic men and women. These faithful friends of Christ are martyrs for their faith, like Bishop Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan and catechist Peter To Rot. They are evangelisers and missionaries, like Sister Maria Troncatti.”

25.⁠ DIGNITARIES, INCLUDING ⁠ITALIAN PRESIDENT SERGIO MATTARELLA, LISTENING

26. ⁠(SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

“They are charismatic founders, like Sister Vincenza Maria Poloni and Sister Carmen Rendiles Martinez, with their hearts burning with devotion. They are benefactors of humanity, like Bartolo Longo and Jose Gregorio Hernandez Cisneros.”

27. PEOPLE IN SQUARE