Johannes Laurentius Weiβ, born at Konnersreuth in Germany, joined the Franciscans in the Austrian Province of St Bernardine in 1693, receiving the name Liberatus. He was ordained five years later. While in Graz in 1703, he responded to an appeal to serve as a missionary in Ethiopia. He was named in 1711 by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith as the head of a missionary endeavour and was joined by two other Italian Franciscan priests, Michele Pio Fasoli from Zerbo, and Samuele Marzorati from Biumo. In defence of the Catholic faith, they were stoned to death at Gondar in 1716 and beatified by John Paul II in 1988.
First Reading: 2 Macc. 7: 1-2, 9-14; Gospel: John 12: 24-26
