14th May 2018
The bodies of the 20 Egyptian Martyrs of Libya were returned to Egypt on 14 May 2018. They were received by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Her Excellency Nabila Makram, the Egyptian Minister of State for Emigration and Expatriate Affairs, and a delegation of bishops, clergymen and deacons.
A mass was celebrated the next day to celebrate the return of the Martyrs of Libya to Egypt at the new church built in their name in their home city of Minya, the Church of the Martyrs of the Faith and Homeland.
The Martyrs of Libya become known when a video of their execution was released on 15 February 2015. On 21 February 2015, Pope Tawadros II announced that the 21 martyrs would be commemorated as martyr saints on the 8th of Amshir, which is 15th February. The commemoration falls on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. The 15th February was then declared in 2017 by the Holy Synod to be an annual day of Commemoration of Modern Day Martyrs, in light of the numerous vicious attacks against the Egyptian Christian community over the past 5 years, that have claimed well over 100 lives in total.
The names of the 21 martyrs, one of whom was from Ghana, can be found below:
| Bishoy Adel Khalaf | Samuel Alhom Wilson | Hany Abdel-Maseeh Salib |
| Melad Makeen Zaky | Abanoub Ayad Attia | Ezzat Boshra Naseef |
| Youssef Shoukry Younan | Kirillos Shoukry Fawzy | Maged Soliman Shehata |
| Somali Stephanos Kamel | Malak Ibrahim Siniot | Bishoy Stephanos Kamel |
| Mena Fayez Aziz | Girgis Melad Siniout | Tawadros Youssef Tawadros |
| Essam Badar Samir | Luka Nagaty | Gaber Mounir Adly |
| Malak Farag Ebraam | Sameh Salah Farouk | Matthew Ayarigia |
May their holy blessings be with us all.
