Text 1745, 82 rader
Skriven 2006-10-18 07:06:58 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
===================================================
Hello All!
                This Area is READ ONLY.  Do not post to this area.
                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

SAINTS, PEOPLE WHO LEAVE EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, OCT 15, 2006 (VIS) - During the Eucharistic celebration held this
morning in St. Peter's Square, which was attended by around 30,000 people, the
Pope canonized the following Blesseds: Rafael Guizar Valencia (1878-1938),
Filippo Smaldone (1848-1923), Rosa Venerini (1656-1728), and Theodore Guerin,
nee Anne-Therese (1798-1856).

At the beginning of his homily, the Holy Father commented on the Gospel account
of the rich young man, affirming how "a saint is that man or that woman who,
responding with joy and generosity to the call of Christ, leaves everything to
follow Him."

"Earthly riches occupy and preoccupy the mind and the heart. Jesus does not say
they are evil, but that they distance one from God if they are not, so to say,
'invested' for the kingdom of heaven, in other words used to help those who
live in poverty."

Benedict XVI then went on to refer in turn to each of the new saints. The
Mexican, Rafael Guizar Valencia was, he said, "bishop of the poor." In his
ministry as priest and later as bishop, in the diocese of Veracruz, he was a
tireless preacher of popular missions - then the most effective way of
evangelizing the people - using his "Catechism of Christian Doctrine." One of
his priorities was the formation of priests, and he rebuilt a seminary which he
considered "the apple of his eye."

"May the example of St. Raphael Guizar Valencia," said the Pope, "be a call to
brother bishops and priests to consider as a fundamental element of their
pastoral projects - alongside the spirit of poverty and evangelization - the
fomentation of priestly and religious vocations and their formation in
accordance with Christ's heart."

The Italian St. Filippo Smaldone, founder of the Institute of the Salesian
Sisters of the Sacred Hearts, was, said Pope Benedict, "a priest with a great
heart, nourished through constant prayer and Eucharistic adoration; he was
above all a witness to and servant of charity which he displayed magnificently
in serving the poor, especially the deaf, to whom he dedicated himself
entirely."

"In the deaf," the Pope went on, the saint "saw a reflection of the image of
Jesus, and he used to repeat that, just as we prostrate ourselves before the
Most Holy Sacrament, so must we kneel before the deaf."

Speaking of the new Italian saint, Rosa Venerini, foundress of the Congregation
of the "Maestre Pie Venerini," Benedict XVI pointed out how "she did not
content herself with giving girls an adequate education, but made it her
concern to ensure them a complete formation, with concrete reference to the
doctrinal teaching of the Church. Even today her apostolic style continues to
characterize the life" of the congregation she founded. "How important, even
for modern society, is the service [the congregation] provides in the field of
schooling, and especially in the formation of women."

St. Theodore Guerin was a Frenchwoman who founded the Congregation of the
Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary "ad Nemus" (Saint Mary of the Woods) in the
U.S.A. The Pope recalled a phrase she used shortly before her death as she
noted how sisters from her congregation were running schools and orphanages all
over the state of Indiana: "How much good has been accomplished by the Sisters
of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods! How much more good they will be able to do if they
remain faithful to their holy vocation!

"Mother Guerin is a beautiful spiritual figure and a model of Christian life,"
he added. "She was always ready for the missions the Church asked of her,
finding the strength and courage to put them into effect in the Eucharist,
prayer and an infinite trust in Divine Providence. Her interior strength gave
her a particular concern for the poor, and especially for children."

After Mass and before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father met delegations from
each of the countries of origin on the new saints, and greeted all the faithful
who had attended the canonization ceremony.
HML/CANONIZATION/... VIS 061016 (670)

SUMMARY

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)