Pope Francis meets with Argentine pilgrims on Feb. 9, 2024, ahead of the historic canonization of the county's first female saint on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, Feb 9, 2024 / 11:41 am (CNA).Pope Francis met with Argentine pilgrims on Friday morning ahead of the historic canonization of the county's first female saint on Sunday.During his address, Pope Francis presented Blessed María Antonia of St. Joseph de Paz y Figueroa, more affectionately known as "Mama Antula," as an example of "charity" and "an inspiration that revives 'the option for the last, for those that society discards.'"The saint's example and legacy is especially important for us today "in the midst of this society that runs the risk of forgetting that 'radical individualism is the most difficult virus to defeat. A virus that deceives. It makes us believe that everything consists of giving free rein to one's own ambitions,'" the pope said, quoting from his encyclical Fratelli Tutt...
Pope Francis meets with Argentine pilgrims on Feb. 9, 2024, ahead of the historic canonization of the county's first female saint on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Feb 9, 2024 / 11:41 am (CNA).
Pope Francis met with Argentine pilgrims on Friday morning ahead of the historic canonization of the county's first female saint on Sunday.
During his address, Pope Francis presented Blessed María Antonia of St. Joseph de Paz y Figueroa, more affectionately known as "Mama Antula," as an example of "charity" and "an inspiration that revives 'the option for the last, for those that society discards.'"
The saint's example and legacy is especially important for us today "in the midst of this society that runs the risk of forgetting that 'radical individualism is the most difficult virus to defeat. A virus that deceives. It makes us believe that everything consists of giving free rein to one's own ambitions,'" the pope said, quoting from his encyclical Fratelli Tutti.
Born in 1730 in Silipica, Santiago del Estero, in northern Argentina, María Antonia's early life was characterized by a fervent desire to serve God. She helped parents with the instruction of their children and administered care to the sick and poor.
Against the backdrop of the suppression of the Jesuits in the Spanish Empire by Charles III, the pope characterized María Antonia as an example of overcoming adversity as she traveled on foot to promote Ignatian spirituality and "to help everyone discover the beauty of following Jesus."
The pope added that this was no small task given the "aversion that had developed toward Christ, the aversion that had developed toward the Jesuits."
"She was forbidden to give retreats, so she decided to give them clandestinely. This dimension of clandestinity must not be forgotten," Pope Francis stressed.
Arguing that it is imperative to not forget this secrecy, the pope told the pilgrims to "not to give up in the face of adversity, not to give up on our good intentions to bring the Gospel to all, despite the challenges."
María Antonia is as an example of discernment "because she had not placed her security in herself, but in God, trusting that her arduous apostolate was his work," the pope said.
In this way she "experienced what God wants of each one of us, that we may discover his call, each in our own state of life … it will always be synthesized in doing everything for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls."
"The path of holiness implies trust and abandonment," the Holy Father emphasized.
"Firmly rooted in the Lord we must see this as an occasion in which we can challenge our environment to bring the joy of the Gospel," he added.
Pope Francis will preside over the Mass of canonization in St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 9:30 a.m. Argentina's President Javier Milei will also be present at the ceremony. He will be received in a private audience with the pope on Monday, Feb. 12, at the Vatican.
St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów is depicted as the patron saint of Poland in a miniature painted by Stanislaw Samostrzelnik of Mogila. / Credit: Polona Digital Library|Wikimedia|PD-ArtWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 16:53 pm (CNA).Pope Francis during his Wednesday general audience invoked the intercession of St. Stanislaus, patron saint of Poland, for peace in Ukraine and Israel.Addressing Polish pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, the pope said: "Today you celebrate the solemnity of St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr, patron of your homeland.""St. John Paul II wrote of him," Francis went on, "that from high in heaven, he shared in the sufferings and hopes of your nation, sustaining its survival, especially during the Second World War."Francis prayed that the intercession of St. Stanislaus "obtain, even today, the gift of peace in Europe and throughout the world, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East."What does Poland have to do with these wars? This co...
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Servant of God Nino Baglieri. / Credit: ANS/SalesiansACI Prensa Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:53 pm (CNA).The diocesan phase of the cause of beatification of the Servant of God Nino Baglieri has been closed in Modica, a town in southern Sicily. Overcoming his bitterness due to his quadriplegic condition, Baglieri gave himself to the mission of evangelizing through the means available to him. The closing of the diocesan phase, according to the Salesian News Agency, took place on Sunday, May 5, in Mother of St. Peter church, where a solemn Eucharist was celebrated by Salvatore Rumeo, the bishop of Noto. In his homily, the prelate related that on May 5, 1951, Baglieri received baptism, "becoming a Christian."Regarding the servant of God, he emphasized that "prayer for Nino was everything: Despite his suffering, like a light that shines and burns, he managed to infect others with the meaning of true prayer."Addressing the servant of God in prayer, Rumeo said: "We are grateful t...