Salvatore Lilli was born in 1853 in Cappadocia (Italy). Retaining his baptismal name, he entered the Franciscans in 1870 in Rome. New Italian laws forced the closure of many religious foundations and Salvatore had to go to the Holy Land to complete his theological studies and he was ordained in Jerusalem in 1878. After some service in the Holy Land, he went to a mission in the city of Kahramanmaras in Armenia (Turkey). For 14 years he laboured there, learning Arabic, Turkish and Armenian languages. He promoted social services, opening his doors to Catholics, Orthodox and Muslim with preference to the sick, the poor and the young. During a cholera epidemic in 1890, he worked heroically, serving as priest and doctor. In 1895, an incident involving a local Turkish politician started a massacre of Christians in the area. Salvatore was stabbed and asked to renounce his faith. When he refused, he was set upon and burned to death with John Balži and six other Armenian Christians. They were beatified by John Paul II in 1982.
First Reading: 2 Tim. 2: 8-13 & 3: 10-12; Gospel: John 12: 24-26
