Texas bishop establishes 1st parish named after Ghanaian ISIS martyr
September 02, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: The bishop of Fort Worth, Texas, announced the establishment of the “first Ghanaian National Catholic parish in the United States and the first Catholic parish anywhere in the world to be established under the patronage of Saint Matthew Ayariga, the Ghanaian Catholic migrant whose courageous profession of faith in Jesus Christ led to his martyrdom in Libya in 2015.”
“Not much is known about Matthew Ayariga other than that he was Ghanaian and a migrant worker in Libya,” Bishop Michael Olson wrote in an August 28 letter. “He was among the group of Christian men abducted and murdered by ISIS on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.”
“Twenty of his coworkers were Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians,” Bishop Olson continued. “His captors offered Matthew an opportunity to be released when they asked him if he was a Christian. His response in the face of certain death was heroic.”
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