Pope Francis will declare a martyr the first Syrian Catholic bishop, who was killed in Turkey one hundred years ago, reported Il Messaggero daily of Italy.

Flavianos Michael Melke is a victim of the genocide of that was committed in the last century.

The Syrian Catholic bishop will be declared a martyr on Saturday, August 29.

The respective Mass will be held in Lebanon, and it will bring together numerous patriarchs from the Eastern churches of Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.

Flavianos Michael Melke was killed on August 29, 1915 in Cizre, Ottoman Empire (now in Turkey), and because of devotion to his Christian faith.

He was arrested by Ottoman authorities on  August 28, 1915, alongside Chaldean Bishop Philippe-Jacques Abraham. According to Muslim eyewitnesses, they were given a choice between death and conversion to Islam the next day. Upon their refusal, Jacques Abraham was immediately shot dead, whereas Flavianos Michael Malke was beaten until he became unconscious and was afterwards beheaded.