More Christians are being martyred today than during the first days of the Church, Pope Francis said on the feast day of the first martyr St Stephen Monday.
"Why does the world persecute Christians?," the pontiff asked a crowd in St Peter's Square.
"The world hates Christians for the same reason it hated Jesus because He brought the light of God and the world prefers the darkness to hide its wicked works," Francis said.
The pope gave his Angelus blessing to thousands of pilgrims in the square.
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