Blessed Ignatius Maloyan 
Armenian Catholic Archbishop and Martyr
(1869-1915)

        Ignatius Maloyan (Shoukrallah) was the son of Melkon and Faridé. He was born in 1869 in Mardin, Turkey. His parish priest noticed signs of a priestly vocation and sent him to the convent of Bzommar-Lebanon when he was 14 years old. After finishing his superior studies in 1896, he was ordained at the Church of Bzommar convent on the feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He became a member of the Bzommar Institute and adopted the name Ignatius in remembrance of the famous martyr of Antioch. From 1897 to 1910, Father Ignatius was the parish priest in Alexandria and Cairo.

        His Beatitude Patriarch Boghos Bedros XII appointed Fr. Ignatius as his assistant in 1904. However, a disease affecting Fr. Ignatius' eyes and breathing forced him to return to Egypt, where he stayed until 1910. He was afterward sent by Patriarch Sabbaghian to restore order at the Diocese of Mardin. On October 22, 1911, the Synod of Bishops assembled in Rome and elected Fr. Ignatius as Mardin's archbishop. He took on the new assignment, planned on renewing the wrecked diocese and encouraged devotion to the Sacred Heart.

        During the First World War, Armenians in Turkey suffered genocide. Their extermination began on April 24, 1915. On April 30, 1915, Turkish soldiers surrounded the Armenian Catholic Bishopric and church in Mardin on the basis that they were hide-outs for arms. In May, Abp. Ignatius informed his priests of the dangers. On June 3, Turkish soldiers dragged him and 27 Armenian Catholics to court in chains. The next day, 25 priests and 862 believers were arrested.

        During the trial, the chief of police, Mamdooh Bek, asked Abp. Ignatius to convert to Islam. When the Archbishop declined, Mamdooh hit him on the head with the rear of his pistol. The soldiers chained Bp. Ignatius' feet and hands, threw him on the ground and hit him mercilessly. With each blow, the Archbishop was heard saying, "Oh Lord, have mercy on me, oh Lord, give me strength." He asked the priests present for absolution. The soldiers continued striking him and then extracted his toe nails.

        On June 9, Abp. Ignatius' mother visited him. When she began crying, he consoled her. The next day, Turkish soldiers gathered 447 Armenians into convoys and took the desert route. Abp. Ignatius prayed with them to remain firm and to accept martyrdom with patience and courage. The priests granted absolution and Abp. Ignatius administered the Eucharist. One of the soldiers, an eye witness, recounted this scene: "That hour, I saw a cloud covering the prisoners and from all emitted a perfumed scent. There was a look of joy and serenity on their faces." After a two-hour walk, the soldiers attacked and killed the prisoners. Abp. Ignatius was told to apostatize by Mamdooh, but replied, "I shall live and die for Jesus Christ." Mamdooh shot Abp. Ignatius. His last words were, "My God, have mercy on me; into your hands I commend my spirit." Abp. Ignatius was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 7, 2001, in Rome.