Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints-- including Saint Damian of Molokai, the Belgian priest who gained international renown working in a Hawaiian leper colony; and Saint Jeanne Jugan, the founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor-- in a ceremony at the Vatican on Sunday, October 11.The other three new saints are:
1. Saint Zigmunt Szczesny Felinski, for former Archbishop of Warsaw;
2. Saint Francesc Coll y Guitart, a Spanish Franciscan; and
3. Saint Rafael Arnaiz Baron, a Spanish Cistercian.
In his homily at the canonization ceremonies, which were held in St. Peter's Square, the Pope said that saints respond vigorously to the "demanding invitation" from Christ: "Come, follow me." He urged all Christians to follow their example, "so that our whole lives may become a hymn of praise to the love of God."
At a midday audience after the canonizations, the Pope led the recitation of the Angelus and greeted pilgrims from the country where the five new saints were born and worked. He concluded his midday audience by saying that the Virgin Mary is an ideal model for emulation, because "her fiat is the model of perfect adherence to the divine will."
(CWN)
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