On Sunday, October 5, 2025, while returning from a Great Lakes vacation, I found myself at the 7:30 AM Mass at St. Mary Immaculate Parish, in Plainfield, Illinois (near Interstate 55 and Joliet). That Sunday was the last day of our 13-day road trip; after Mass and breakfast, we would begin the long drive back home to Omaha.
St. Mary Immaculate Parish (Smip.org) was a mega-church, almost as large as my Catholic parish in Omaha. As I walked through a hallway leading to the sanctuary, I came upon a wall decorated with a series of icons. To my amazement, there were two icons, side-by-side, that seemed to capture the sacrament of the Eucharist (that I wrote about in this blog on September 13, 2025).
The first icon depicted the Last Supper. The other, at first blush, reminded me of the artwork that I used for my September 13 blog entry – artwork depicting Jesus talking to a crowd on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum (as described in John 6, beginning with verse 25).
It was in and near Capernaum where Jesus professed what has come to be known as the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6:22-59), which I encourage you to read fully. In one part of the discourse (John 6:53-56), “Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.’” John went on to note that some of those in the crowd thought that Jesus’ words were hard, and that many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Jesus (Cf. John 6:60,66).
The Icon at St. Mary Immaculate Church
The icon that caught my attention at church that Sunday is pictured above. Again, on first blush, I thought it depicted Jesus talking to a crowd, possibly on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. I think I was overwhelmed that Sunday by the vivid blue of the water pictured. I took a quick photograph of the icon, attended Mass, participated in the Eucharist, and then drove back to Omaha.
When I later examined the icon in more detail, I noted several things that challenged my “Sea of Galilee” supposition. The first and most obvious thing was the title of the icon, “21 Martyrs of Libya,” which I had not noticed before. I also noted, for the first time, that the people in the crowd (all 21 of them) had halos around their heads, indicating that they were saints. It became obvious that this icon was not the “Sea of Galilee” artwork that I had suspected. So, what did this icon actually depict?
The 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya
Per Wikipedia, in February of 2015, the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) paraded 21 kidnapped construction workers – twenty from Egypt and one from Ghana – along the Mediterranean Sea in Libya – before beheading them. ISIS released a video of the beheadings, so that the whole world could see the victims blood flow into the sea. All but one of the victims were members of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Later that month Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria declared them to be martyrs and saints. In 2023, Pope Francis announced that the 21 Christian men murdered by ISIS would also be commemorated by the Catholic Church and listed in the Roman Martyrology, in what was described as “a major ecumenical decision.” A film titled The 21 was released in 2024 to commemorate the 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya. As of today, it has had 2.2 million views on YouTube.
If you look at the icon above closely, you will note the darker skinned construction worker from Ghana in the center. His name is Matthew Ayariga. There apparently is some question as to his Christian status. Per Wikipedia, he was most likely a Christian before he was kidnapped. “However, according to some unnamed sources, he was not originally a Christian, but saw the immense faith of the others, and when the terrorists asked him if he rejected Jesus he reportedly said, ‘Their God is my God’, knowing that he would be killed for saying this.’”
Some Final Thoughts
Some of the disciples along the Sea of Galilee heard Jesus’ hard words and returned to their former ways of living. The Coptic martyrs of Libya heard hard words from ISIS, declined an opportunity to renounce their faith, and then died – but lived eternally, per their faith.
Thirty Ethiopian Christians were shot or beheaded just two months later. ISIS beheadings peaked between 2014 and 2015. They received widespread media coverage and condemnations, including by Islamic leaders. Other individuals (e.g., journalists, aid workers) and groups (Syrian soldiers, Kurdish soldiers) were also beheaded or otherwise killed. The media at the time was reporting extensively on one of the terrorists who was nick-named Jihadi John. A US drone strike in November of 2015 ended Jihad John’s life, in an equally quick and violent manner.
Christians in the Middle East continued to be a threatened minority. I saw it firsthand when we visited Isreal and Palestine in 2017. The merchants in Bethlehem struggle to survive. The Holy Family Church of Gaza City is the only Catholic church in Gaza. It has been attacked multiple times by the Israeli Defense Force over the last two years.
The percentage of people in Palestine who are Christians continues to drop. Per Wikipedia (“Palestinian Christians”), the percentage of Christians in Palestine was 9.5% in 1922. By 2015 the percentage in the West Bank was estimated to be between 1 and 2.5 percent. Palestinian Christians that convert from Islam fear persecution. The USA, a quasi-Christian nation, spends considerable time and treasure in the Middle East, only to watch the governments and people of the Middle East harass their Christian populations. Pray for the Christians in the Middle East and their future safety.
Photo Credit: My thanks to Tony Rezk for his permission to publish the icon of the “21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya.” He also kindly provided the high-resolution photo that is posted herein.
Biblical Quotes: All biblical quotes are from the New American Bible, copyright 1987 by Devore and Sons, Inc., Wichita, Kansas.