Because they can do what the unfocused cannot do, we call their actions miraculous. Saints, more often than not, are killed because they are trying to do good in a world which tends to be controlled by those who do not want good to be done because it challenges their power. Saints, more often than not, are killed by people who have other religious beliefs. Simply possessing your beliefs in writing was enough to get you killed. These were people dedicated to teaching others about the love of God.
Saints often become saints due to their empathy for others.
That act of empathy is what tends to cause them to take the spiritual stand that leads them to martyrdom. However, when he returned to the Catholic faith the Queen did not hesitate to torture then hang him. During the French Revolution in 1794 sixteen Carmelite nuns were guillotined when they chose not to give up their calling and are known as the Martyrs of Compiegne. Three sisters, Agape, Chionia, and Irene were convicted of possessing texts of the scriptures and in the year 304 were executed. They were burned alive.