Child saints are

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

ren who died or were

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed and have been declared

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

s or

s of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Coptic Orthodox The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

, or

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Churches or have been beatified.

Early Christian Saints

Orthodox Church

Episcopal Church

Catholic Church

Group Martyrs

Martyrs of China

Martyrs of Japan The were Christian missionaries and followers who were persecuted and executed, mostly during the Tokugawa shogunate period in the 17th century. More than 400 martyrs of Japan have been recognized with beatification by the Catholic Church, and 42 ...

Martyrs of Korea The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the nineteenth century in Korea. Between 8,000–10,000 Korean Christians were killed during this period. 103 Catholics were canonized ''en masse'' in May 1 ...

Martyrs of Kosheh

* Al-Amir Helmy Fahmy * Maysoon Ghatas Fahmy * Refaat Fayez Awad Fahmy * Wael El-Dabai Mikhail

Martyrs of Nag Hammadi

* Mina Helmy Said * Bishoy Farid Labib * Dina Hamalni * Boula Atef Yassa * Abanoub Kamal Nashed

Martyrs of the Nazi regime

Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War During the Spanish Civil War Catholic people faced persecution from the Republican faction of the war, in part due to their support of the nationalists and the recently abolished monarchy. The Catholic Church venerates them as martyrs. More t ...

Martyrs of Vietnam

* Andrew Trong Van Tram * Anê Dần * Giuse Túc * Thomas Thien Tran

Other Catholic Martyrs

Dubious or fictitious

William of Norwich William of Norwich (2 February 1132 – 22 March 1144) was an English boy whose disappearance and killing was, at the time, attributed to the Jewish community of Norwich. It is the first known medieval accusation against Jews of ritual murder. ...

was a twelve year old English boy whose unsolved murder was, at the time, attributed to the Jewish community of Norwich. It is the first known medieval accusation against Jews of ritual murder.

E. M. Rose E. M. Rose (born 1959) is a historian of medieval and early modern England and a journalist, and the inaugural visiting scholar in the Program in Medieval Studies at Harvard University, best known for the book ''The Murder of William of Norwich''. ...

points out that road robberies and kidnappings gone wrong were a frequent cause of death in the region during the period of

The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...

when the Crown struggled to safeguard the roads. This was followed by a similar allegation regarding the unexplained death of

Harold of Gloucester Harold of Gloucester (died 1168) was a supposed child martyr who was falsely claimed by Benedictine monks to have been ritually murdered by Jews in Gloucester, England, in 1168. The claims arose in the aftermath of the circulation of the fi ...

. An attempt to establish a cult of Harold seems to have been unsuccessful. It was never officially supported and died out long before the Reformation.Hillaby, Joe, "The ritual-child-murder accusation: its dissemination and Harold of Gloucester", Jewish Historical Studies, vol. 34, (1994-1996), pp. 69-109. However, it established a pattern. Any unexplained child death occurring near the Easter festival was arbitrarily linked to Jews in the vicinity. In some instances promotion of a cult may have been influenced by the interest of local clergy to enhance the prestige of their church with a shrine. Anthony Bale suggests this, and local politics, may have been contributing factors to the cult of

Robert of Bury Saint Robert of Bury (died 1181) was an English boy, allegedly murdered and found in the town of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in 1181. His death, which occurred at a time of rising antisemitism, was blamed on local Jews.Patricia Skinner ''The Jews ...

Simon of Trent Simon of Trent (german: Simon von Trient, also known as Simon Unverdorben (meaning Simon Immaculate in German); it, Simonino di Trento), also known as Simeon (1472–1475), was a boy from the city of Trent (now Trento in northern Italy), in the ...

and

Werner of Oberwesel Werner of Oberwesel (also known as Werner of Bacharach or Werner of Womrath; 1271 – 1287) was a 16-year-old boy whose unexplained death was blamed on Jews, leading to revenge killings of Jews across Europe. He was venerated as a Christian ...

The Attitude of the Catholic Church towards Jewish Ritual Murder
/ref> are other examples of individuals who died under unknown circumstances, but whose deaths were nonetheless attributed to the Jews.

Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln Hugh of Lincoln (1246 – 27 August 1255) was an English boy whose death in Lincoln was falsely attributed to Jews. He is sometimes known as Little Saint Hugh or Little Sir Hugh to distinguish him from the adult saint, Hugh of Lincoln (died 12 ...

was never actually canonised, making the moniker "Little Saint Hugh" a misnomer. He was for a short while acclaimed by local people as a saint but never officially recognised as one. Over time, the issue of the rush to sainthood was raised, and Hugh was never canonised, nor included in Catholic martyrology. In the case of

Dominguito del Val Dominguito del Val (died ''c.'' 1250) was a legendary child of Medieval Spain, who was allegedly a choirboy ritually murdered by Jews in Zaragoza (Saragossa). Dominguito is the protagonist of the first blood libel in the history of Spain – st ...

,Gil, Sergio Martinez. "The Martyrdom of Santo Domenguito de Val", Historia de Aragon
/ref> and

Andreas Oxner Anderl (Andreas) Oxner von Rinn, also known as Andreas Oxner, (c. 1459 – 12 July 1462) is a folk saint of the Roman Catholic Church. A later writer alleged that the three-year-old boy had been ritually murdered by the Jews in the village of Ri ...

,Blessed Andreas (Oxner) of Rinn
/ref> and the

Holy Child of La Guardia The Holy Child of La Guardia ( es, El Santo Niño de La Guardia) is a folk saint in Spanish Catholic Church, Roman Catholicism and the subject of a medieval blood libel in the town of La Guardia, Spain, La Guardia in the central Spain, Spanish pr ...

it is not clear that the alleged victim ever existed in the first place.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle

Saints.SQPN.com
Partial list of saints who died as children.

Asian Saints Photostream

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

page containing the images of some Asian child saints.

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

Children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

Child saints