Christian martyrdom, as this book shows, is not a distant story enshrined in stained glass but a vivid contemporary reality. John Thiede demonstrates that it is also a rich resource for serious theological reflection.

Lawrence Cunningham, The University of Notre Dame

Powerfully suggests that in world of injustice, in which the cry of the crucified poor is the cry of Jesus crucified again in our history, we have once more entered an “age of martyrs.”

Philip J. Rossi S.J., Marquette University, Marquette University

Thiede makes a strong case for expanding the notion of martyr, and provides guidance for how this expansion can be made. The book is a significant contribution to political theology.

Robert Doran, Marquette University

Pope Francis has broken through doctrinal barriers toward a renewed and broadened understanding of martyrdom for our time, making possible the canonization of Blessed Romero of América and the cause of Rutilio Grande, SJ, and others. Thiede provides the historical and theological background to this breakthrough, taking as exemplars the martyrs of El Salvador, and demonstrating how Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino paved the way for this signal doctrinal development. This beautifully accessible book will prove indispensable to a full understanding of the Church’s acknowledgment of the martyrs among us, both in the recent past and surely yet to come.

Paul Crowley S.J., Santa Clara University