Pope remembers modern martyrs, visits prison on St. Stephen’s Day

Pope Francis marked the day after Christmas by noting Christians are still being persecuted for their faith, as the Church celebrates the feast day of the first martyr, St. Stephen.

“Unfortunately, today there are still, in various parts of the world, many men and women who are persecuted, at times up to death, because of the Gospel,” the pontiff said during his Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday.

In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Stephen – a deacon – was...