Pope Benedict Marks Feast of First Christian Martyr

Pope Benedict XVI on Monday recognized the Christians who are still persecuted for their faith as he celebrated the feast of St. Stephen – Christianity's first martyr.

"How can we not recognize that even these times, in various parts of the world, professing Christian faith requires the heroism of martyrs?" Pope Benedict asked as he addressed crowds in St. Peter's Square.

The feast of St. Stephen is traditionally celebrated the day after Christmas. Stephen was the disciple who was stoned to death for saying he had seen Christ standing at the right hand of God, as is recorded in the book of Acts, and is the first Christian ever to be killed for his faith.

The Vatican and other Protestant Christians have pushed for greater religious freedom in countries such as China and Vietnam, whose officially atheistic communist governments allow Christians to worship only in tightly controlled state-registered churches.