Ignatius Maloyan
Armenian Catholic archbishop, martyr and saint
Feast: 11 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan was born at Mardin, in today's Turkey, on 15 April 1869, studied at the monastery of Bzommar in Lebanon and was ordained on Corpus Christi 1896. After ministry in Egypt he was consecrated Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Mardin on 22 October 1911.
Imprisoned in the persecution of 1915, he consecrated bread in prison for his fellow prisoners. Refusing to embrace another faith, he said: 'I consider the shedding of my blood for my faith the sweetest wish of my heart.' He was shot with many others on 11 June 1915, the feast of the Sacred Heart.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
An archbishop who fed his fellow prisoners with the Eucharist and died for Christ.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Ignazio Maloyan
- Wikidata Q328238 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Ignatius Maloyan (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.