Saints & Martyrs trivia, the witness across centuries.

Which deacon, stoned to death in Acts 7, is traditionally remembered as the first Christian martyr?

1. Philip
2. James
3. Stephen
4. Andrew

"And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep."Acts 7:59-60

Stephen — one of the seven deacons appointed in Acts 6 to handle the daily distribution to widows — is the first recorded Christian martyr. His sermon in Acts 7 is the longest in the book. Saul (later Paul) is named as a witness who "approved of his execution," watching the cloaks of those who threw the stones.

Which 4th-century missionary bishop is the patron saint of Ireland?

1. Saint Columba
2. Saint Brigid
3. Saint Patrick
4. Saint Kevin

"I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three."St. Patrick's Breastplate (Lorica), traditionally attributed to Patrick (5th century)

A Romano-British teenager seized by Irish raiders and enslaved for six years, Patrick returned to Ireland as a bishop and missionary around 432. His Confessio, written in unpolished Latin, is one of the earliest autobiographical Christian texts. The Lorica ("Breastplate") prayer associated with him is a much-loved Trinitarian invocation in Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions.

Which 13th-century Italian friar, known for love of the poor and the natural world, founded the Franciscan order?

1. Saint Dominic
2. Saint Francis of Assisi
3. Saint Anthony of Padua
4. Saint Bonaventure

"Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, all praise is yours, all glory, all honour, and all blessing. Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun…"Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures (c. 1224)

Born to a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, Francis renounced his inheritance and embraced lady poverty in 1208. The Order of Friars Minor he founded grew rapidly, and Francis is the only saint other than Christ traditionally said to have received the stigmata. His Canticle is regarded as the first major poem in Italian vernacular.

Which Albanian-born Catholic nun won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work with the poor of Calcutta?

1. Edith Stein
2. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
3. Mother Teresa
4. Catherine of Siena

"The fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace."Mother Teresa, Address to UNESCO (1979)

Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910, Mother Teresa felt a "call within a call" in 1946 to leave teaching and serve the dying poor in Calcutta's slums. The Missionaries of Charity she founded in 1950 grew to over 4,500 sisters in 130 countries. She was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016 — the most recent saint widely known beyond Catholic circles.

Which 2nd-century bishop of Smyrna was burned at the stake around AD 155 after refusing to revile Christ?

1. Ignatius of Antioch
2. Polycarp of Smyrna
3. Justin Martyr
4. Cyprian of Carthage

"Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"Martyrdom of Polycarp 9.3 (c. AD 155)

A disciple of the apostle John, Polycarp was arrested under the proconsul of Asia and given the option to swear by Caesar's genius. His refusal — recorded in the earliest extant Christian martyr account outside Scripture — became a template for the literary genre of martyrology. The flames are said not to have consumed him, so he was dispatched with a dagger.

Which young noblewoman, killed at Carthage around AD 203, is the central figure of one of the earliest Christian texts known to be written by a woman?

1. Saint Lucy
2. Saint Cecilia
3. Saint Perpetua
4. Saint Agnes

"While I was still nursing my child … the Spirit dictated, and I wrote it down."Passion of Perpetua and Felicity 2 (AD 203)

A 22-year-old catechumen with a nursing infant, Perpetua was arrested under Septimius Severus along with the slave woman Felicity. Her prison diary — one of the earliest first-person accounts by a Christian woman — was preserved within a longer narrative of their martyrdom in the amphitheatre at Carthage. Augustine later preached sermons on her feast day.

Which Anglican bishop of Worcester, burned at the stake in 1555 with Hugh Latimer, is one of the "Oxford Martyrs" under Queen Mary?

1. Thomas Cranmer
2. Nicholas Ridley
3. John Hooper
4. John Rogers

"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."Hugh Latimer to Nicholas Ridley, Oxford, 16 October 1555 (Foxe's Book of Martyrs)

Under Catholic Queen Mary I, leading English reformers were tried for heresy and executed. Ridley and Latimer were burned together at Oxford; Archbishop Thomas Cranmer followed five months later. Their deaths — vividly told in John Foxe's Acts and Monuments (1563) — became a defining narrative of English Protestant identity for the next four centuries.

Which Carmelite nun and Spanish mystic of the 16th century wrote The Interior Castle and reformed her order with John of the Cross?

1. Catherine of Siena
2. Teresa of Ávila
3. Hildegard of Bingen
4. Julian of Norwich

"Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you; all things pass: God does not change. Patience achieves everything."Teresa of Ávila, prayer found in her breviary after her death (1582)

Teresa (1515–1582) reformed the Carmelite order along stricter contemplative lines, founding seventeen Discalced Carmelite convents across Spain. Her mystical writings — The Interior Castle, The Way of Perfection, and her Life — combine practical wisdom with rare descriptions of the soul's ascent. Paul VI named her the first woman Doctor of the Church in 1970.

Which German Lutheran pastor and theologian was executed at Flossenbürg concentration camp in April 1945 for resisting Hitler?

1. Martin Niemöller
2. Karl Barth
3. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
4. Helmut Thielicke

"This is the end — for me, the beginning of life."Bonhoeffer's last reported words to fellow prisoner Payne Best, 9 April 1945

A founding pastor of the Confessing Church, Bonhoeffer joined a circle within the Abwehr (German military intelligence) that conspired against Hitler. Arrested in 1943, he was hanged days before the camp was liberated. The Cost of Discipleship, Life Together, and the posthumously published Letters and Papers from Prison continue to shape Christian ethics across denominations.

Which archbishop of San Salvador was assassinated at the altar in 1980 for opposing political violence in El Salvador?

1. Helder Camara
2. Gustavo Gutierrez
3. Óscar Romero
4. Juan Gerardi

"If they kill me, I shall rise in the Salvadoran people."Óscar Romero, interview with Excélsior, two weeks before his death (1980)

Initially seen as a conservative choice by the Salvadoran establishment, Romero was radicalized by the murder of his friend Fr. Rutilio Grande and became the conscience of his country during a brutal civil war. He was shot while celebrating Mass on 24 March 1980. Canonized by Pope Francis in 2018, he is widely revered beyond Catholic circles as a modern witness who chose his flock over his safety.