RADIO VATICANA: Ten’s of thousands of people joined Pope Benedict in St Peter’s Square today as he canonized six new Saints of the Church. Australia’s first native born saint, Mary of the Cross MacKillop, was one of those canonized in the solemn Eucharistic liturgy. Some 5,000 pilgrims, along with Cardinal Archbishop George Pell of Sydney, came to Rome to see St Mary, a nineteenth century nun, raised to the “honor of the altar” at Sunday’s Canonization. A daughter of Scottish Catholic Immigrants, she overcame many obstacles in founding a religious institute of women dedicated to St Joseph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.Once excommunicated by the bishops of Australia because of malicious accusations which fuelled their suspicion of the new form of religious life she founded – which was independent of the auspices of a single diocesan ordinary – St Mary remained steadfast in her trust in Divine Providence and in her selfless concern for the marginalized."She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other women to join her in the first women’s community of religious sisters of that country. She attended to the needs of each young person entrusted to her, without regard for station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual formation. Despite many challenges, her prayers to Saint Joseph and her unflagging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom she dedicated her new congregation, gave this holy woman the graces needed to remain faithful to God and to the Church. Through her intercession, may her followers today continue to serve God and the Church with faith and humility! She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other women to join her in the first women’s community of religious sisters of that country. She attended to the needs of each young person entrusted to her, without regard for station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual formation. Despite many challenges, her prayers to Saint Joseph and her unflagging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom she dedicated her new congregation, gave this holy woman the graces needed to remain faithful to God and to the Church. Through her intercession, may her followers today continue to serve God and the Church with faith and humility!"The event also saw the canonization of Canada’s first native male saint, André Bessette, a lay brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross.A delegation of over 5,000 pilgrims came from Canada and the United States to participate in his official declaration as a saint of the Universal Church.St André spent over 40 years as the porter of Notre Dame College in Montréal after he entered religious life. He was known as an affable, simple and devout religious who inspired countless persons to integrate their faith into their daily lives and seek the face of Christ in the poor.During his lifetime, many miracles were attributed to the intercessory prayer of this humble and loving religious brother.Motivated by his devotion to St Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, he received permission to found a simple oratory in the Canadian city.Today, the Oratory of St Joseph in Montréal, is an enormous sanctuary and the destination of many North American pilgrims who are in search of healing and reconciliation and venerate St André’s mortal remains. Along with St Mary and St André four other blessed became officially recognized as saints on Sunday.The Fifteenth Century, St Stanislaw Soltys, a polish Canon Regular of the Lateran, St Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola (foundress of the 19th century Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus in Spain), St Giulia Salzano, (foundress of the 19th century Congregation of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Italy), and St Battista Camilla Varano, a 15th century reformer of the Order of St Clare in Italy.The pope reminded the tens of thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square on a beautiful autumn morning that Jesus also invites each of us to follow Him in order to inherit eternal life. Let us be drawn by these shining examples, let us be guided by their teachings, so that our existence might be a canticle of praise to God, he said.Let the Virgin Mary and the intercession of the six new Saints whom we venerate with joy today obtain for us this grace.
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