Johannes Laurentius Weiss and 2 companions

The mission in Ethiopia took place within a complex ecclesial context. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church had separated from communion with Rome following the Council of Chalcedon (451) by professing miaphysitism. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Propaganda Fide) in Rome wished to send Franciscan missionaries to work for the reconciliation and union of the Churches, responding to an earlier invitation from the Ethiopian Emperor Iyasu I. A first expedition was launched in 1705 under the leadership of Father Joseph of Jerusalem. Liberatus Weiss and Michele Pio Fasoli were part of it. However, the group was arrested in Sudan by King Bade of Sennar. Held in captivity for several years under conditions of extreme deprivation, most of the missionaries succumbed to hunger and disease. Only Liberatus Weiss and Michele Pio Fasoli survived and managed to return to Cairo in 1710. Far from being discouraged, the Propaganda decided to organize a second attempt. On April 20, 1711, Father Liberatus Weiss was appointed apostolic prefect of the mission. He left Cairo again on November 3, 1711, accompanied by Michele Pio Fasoli and Samuele Marzorati. The three missionaries managed to reach Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia, on July 20, 1712. Welcomed with courtesy by Emperor Yostos (Justos), they nevertheless encountered the distrust of the population and the local clergy, marked by the memory of past conflicts with the Jesuits. Forbidden from public preaching, they led a discreet and charitable life. They learned the local languages, opened a small dispensary to treat the sick for free, and performed various manual tasks (painting, sculpture) to earn the esteem of the population. To appease tensions, the emperor eventually sent them temporarily to the Tigray province.

In 1716, the political situation shifted. Emperor Yostos fell gravely ill and was deposed by his opponents, who brought Emperor Dawit III (David III) to power. The latter adopted a hostile policy toward Catholics. The three Franciscans were arrested and brought under escort to Gondar to be tried.

Their trial took place at the end of February and the beginning of March 1716. They were accused of heresy for their adherence to the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon (which confesses the two natures, divine and human, of Christ), for not practicing circumcision, and for lacking devotion to the Virgin Mary. The Emperor promised them their lives and freedom if they agreed to renounce the Catholic faith, undergo circumcision, and adopt the rites of the Ethiopian Church.

The three missionaries categorically refused to abjure their faith, forcefully reaffirming the Catholic doctrine of the two natures of Christ. Sentenced to death, they spent their last night in prison singing hymns of praise to the Holy Trinity. On March 3, 1716, they were led to the slopes of Mount Ambo Abo, near Gondar, where they died, stoned by the crowd.

The informative process for the beatification of the three martyrs was opened in Vienna (the seat of the Franciscan province of origin of Father Liberat Weiss) in the years 1932-1933. After the examination of the cause and the publication of the Positio in 1986, the decree recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei was promulgated on March 28, 1988. They were solemnly beatified on November 20, 1988, by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Their liturgical memorial is inscribed in the Martirologio Romano on the date of March 3, the anniversary of their martyrdom.

In his beatification homily, Pope John Paul II presented the Blesseds Liberatus, Samuel, and Michael Pius as "shining examples of how the truth can be proclaimed and lived, without for all that renouncing love." The Sovereign Pontiff also called for a critical re-reading of the missionary methods of the modern era, emphasizing the importance of ecumenical dialogue and respect for local cultural traditions, while praising the total self-giving of these three religious.

Their memory remains alive within the Franciscan family and in their regions of origin: * In Germany, in Konnersreuth, a monument commemorates Father Liberatus Weiss. * In Austria, the Franciscan province preserves his memory, notably at the Maria Lankowitz convent in Styria. * In Italy, Blessed Samuel Marzorati is honored in the Diocese of Milan (a pastoral community bears his name in Varese), while Blessed Michael Pius Fasoli is particularly venerated in the Diocese of Pavia.