Christophorus Zelt
Lay brother of the Order of Friars Minor, martyr at Prague
Who they were
Christophorus Zelt was a lay brother from the Netherlands, about seventy years old, the cook of the friary; he was the first of the community to suffer martyrdom, his head struck with an iron hammer. He was one of Frederick Bachstein and thirteen companions of the Order of Friars Minor killed at Prague on 15 February 1611, and was beatified on 13 October 2012 by Benedict XVI.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
The friary cook, and the first of the community to be killed.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 105 (2013), p. 770 - decree on martyrdom
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - beatifications of 13 October 2012
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.