CWN - Pope Francis canonized four women religious during Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on May 17.
The four are St. Émilie de Villeneuve (1811-54), the French foundress of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Castres; St. Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas (1843-1927), a Palestinian nun who founded the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem; St. Mariam Baouardy (1846-1878), a Palestinian Discalced Carmelite; and St. Maria Cristina Brando (1856-1906), foundress of the Oblation Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
“Our faith is firmly linked to [the Apostles’] testimony, as to an unbroken chain which spans the centuries, made up not only by the successors of the Apostles, but also by succeeding generations of Christians,” he preached. “Like the Apostles, each one of Christ’s followers is called to become a witness to his resurrection, above all in those human settings where forgetfulness of God and human disorientation are most evident.”
Pope Francis added:
To abide in God and in his love, and thus to proclaim by our words and our lives the resurrection of Jesus, to live in unity with one another and with charity towards all. This is what the four women saints canonized today did. Their luminous example challenges us in our lives as Christians. How do I bear witness to the risen Christ? This is a question we have to ask ourselves. How do I abide in him? How do I dwell in his love? Am I capable of “sowing” in my family, in my workplace and in my community, the seed of that unity which he has bestowed on us by giving us a share in the life of the Trinity?
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