Pope Benedict XVI Canonizes Four New Saints

Pope Benedict XVI canonized four new saints on Sunday during Mass in St. Peter’s Square. Scores of thousands of pilgrim faithful were on hand to join in the ceremony, which took place under a brilliant Roman October sun that warmed the air to unseasonably pleasant temperatures. The new models of holiness for the whole Church are Gaetano Errico, a Neapolitan priest who founded a missionary order in the 19th century; The Swiss-born missionary Sister Maria Bernarda, who worked in Ecuador and Colombia; A 19th century laywoman from Ecuador who helped the sick and the poor Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran; And finally, Sister Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, who is the first native-born Indian woman to be elevated to the honour of the altars. Pope Benedict XVI especially praised Sr. Alphonsa’s strength of character in words of... [read full story]