In 1860, Ahmed Pasha ruled Syria. A sectarian tyrant, nothing would prevent him from achieving his ends. On the morning of July 10, 1860, the Christians were massacred, their houses destroyed and their goods stolen. Around 8 o’clock in the evening, while fire took hold of the Orthodox Christian quarters, Francis, Abdel Mohti, and Raphael were at home. Fearing the furor and ferocity of the massacres, they left their wives and children and headed for the Franciscan convent. At 11 o’clock, the Mission Superior closed and barricaded the doors, and invited the refugees into the church. After the litany, the Fathers heard confession and gave communion to all of the devoted present. From the church, they climbed to the convent terrace; only Francis remained kneeling before the altar of the Sorrowful Mother. At one hour past midnight, the slaughterers infiltrated the house by a secret door shown to them by Hassan Allaf, the house manager.
Some refugees took flight. Ahmed’s agents seized the Superior who promised to show them the hiding place of a treasure. The Father descended into the church, lighted two candelabras, opened the tabernacle, and swallowed the Blessed Hosts. He was killed upon the altar. Francis remained kneeling before the Virgin. Ahmed’s agents recognized him. They advanced towards him and said: “Sheik Abdallah has sent us to save you from death; you, your brothers, your families, and all those who depend upon you for protection, on the condition that you deny your faith and convert to Islam.” Francis responded calmly: “Sheik Abdallah can take the money I lent him, he can also take my life; but my faith, no one can make me deny. I am a Maronite Christian and on the faith of Christ, I will die.” “We will kill you,” they cried. “I will be with my Lord.” Francis then began a prayer, which he finished in heaven. The slaughterers massacred him with swords, hatchets, and daggers. Abdel Mohti was on the church terrace, when the convent fell into the hands of the assassins. He ran to the church to take refuge near his brother, but at the chapel door, he was seized and asked to deny his faith in order to enter Islam. He proclaimed: “I am a Christian, kill me, I am ready.” Daggers and hatchets severed his body and he fell at the church door. As for Raphael, he was hiding in a corner of the convent. They found him and propositioned him: “become a Muslim, you will be saved.” Raphael fell to his knees and appealed to the Holy Virgin. He was beheaded and trampled. Once the calm had returned, witnesses assure, the three martyred brothers were buried with the Franciscan Priests, martyrs for their faith. Sixty years passed from the time of the heroic death of the three Massabki brothers. God then allowed the revival of their memory. In accordance with the Patriarch, the Apostolic Nuncio, and the community Bishops, Msgr. Chemaly, Maronite archbishop of Damascus, addressed a letter to the Vatican imploring the Holy Father to join the beatification of the three Maronite martyrs to that of their companions, the Franciscan Priests: “It was on the same date” said he, “and for the same faith, that they gave their lives.” The letter also begged the Holy Father to pay particular attention to this request, so that the beatification of the three martyrs would be a source of grace for the Damascus community and a rebirth of Christian life in the hearts of the Eastern faithful. On October 7 1926, His Holiness Pirus XI proclaimed the beatification of the three brothers. “By the power of these lines are named Most Blessed Martyrs the servants of God Francis, Abdel Mohti, and Raphael Massabki, Maronites of Damascus…and we hereby permit the display of their relics before all the devout, and the celebration, on their day of remembrance, of the Liturgy of the Martyrs.