He Papa Francisco today lamented that the persecution of Christians continues and “that there are those who struggle every day to follow the Gospel, while the world laughs at them and preaches something else,” at the Angelus on St. Stephen’s Day, considered the first martyr Catholic Church.

“Today, two thousand years later, we sadly see that persecution continues: there are still – and many of them – those who suffer and die for the testimony of Jesus, and there are also those who are punished at various levels for behavior in a manner consistent with the Gospel, and those who strive every day to remain faithful to their good duties without fuss, while the world laughs at them and preach something else,” the Pope said in the Angelus prayer.

And leaning out of the window papal palace he added. “These brothers and sisters may also seem like losers, but today we see that they are not. In fact, now as then, the seed of their victims, which seemed dead, sprouts and bears fruit, because God through them continues to work miracles, change hearts and save people.