- May 16, 2015 · ... Pope Francis declared Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Baouardy the first ... Sister Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas came to understand clearly ...
Pope Francis canonises two Palestinian nuns days after state recognition
Published on 17 May 2015
The Pope has named two Palestinian nuns as saints during a Sunday ceremony in St Peter's Square.
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was among more than 2,000 pilgrims from the territories who attended.
The canonisation comes just four days after the Vatican formalised its de facto recognition of the State of Palestine.
It highlighted Pope Francis' long running drive to help the embattled Christian community in the Middle East
Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas was the founder of the…
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2015/05/17/po...
ROME — They were humble women, servants of God. And of their fellow men and women in the holy land.
What are the top stories today? Click to watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list..ROME — They were humble women, servants of God. And of their fellow men and women in the holy land.
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was among more than 2,000 pilgrims from the territories who attended.
The canonisation comes just four days after the Vatican formalised its de facto recognition of the State of Palestine.
It highlighted Pope Francis' long running drive to help the embattled Christian community in the Middle East
Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas was the founder of the…
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2015/05/17/po...
ROME — They were humble women, servants of God. And of their fellow men and women in the holy land.
On Sunday, in a canonization laden with significance both religious and political, Pope Francis declared Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Baouardy the first two Palestinian saints of modern times.
Some 2,000 Palestinians gathered in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square to sing and pray and celebrate their saints. There, they heard the Pope pay tribute to the way in which the two new saints experienced the love of God.
‘Eternal love’
“Sister Mariam Baouardy experienced this in an outstanding way. Poor and uneducated, she was able to counsel others and provide theological explanations with extreme clarity, the fruit of her constant converse with the Holy Spirit. Her docility to the Spirit also made her a means of encounter and fellowship with the Muslim world,” the Pope said.
“So, too, Sister Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas came to understand clearly what it means to radiate the love of God … and to be a witness to meekness and unity. She shows us the importance of becoming responsible for one another, of living lives of service one to another,” he said.
‘A light in the tunnel’
In the Holy Land, Palestinians tried to express what the canonization meant to them.
“As Christians, this is a sign of hope, this is a light in the tunnel,” said Father Jamal Khader, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. “Especially now in the Middle East, with all the events, with all the violence. We are celebrating the lives of two saints who worked humbly for everyone and who proved to be true followers of Jesus Christ.”
The Vatican wants to be seen as part of the peace process in the Middle East, and Pope Francis has made that a priority. And Francis can be expected at some point to take similar action on the Israeli side.
As political as the canonizations may have been, they carried deep spiritual meaning, as well.
Visions of the Virgin
Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in the 1840s to a devout Christian family. She became a nun, dedicating herself to a life of quiet servitude.
In Bethlehem, she said she began to receive visions of the Virgin Mary telling her to start a new congregation for Arab girls, called Sisters of the Rosary.
Ghattas’ hard work and her profound devotion led to the founding of the Rosary Sisters Convent. It was Ghattas’ home, which she donated to the convent to spread education and culture to those in need.
“Sometimes God creates from these weak people something great,” said Sister Agatha, a member of the Rosary Sisters congregation in Jerusalem.
A throat slit, a miracle occurs
Baouardy was born in Ibillin, a small village in Galilee, also in the 1840s. She was the 13th child in her family, and the only one to survive past infancy.
Her parents died when she was 3 years old, and her uncle raised her.
In Alexandria, Egypt, one of her uncle’s servants told her to convert to Islam. When she refused, the servant slit her throat.
It was then that Baouardy’s miracle began.
“Mariam became a martyr, and she went to heaven,” said Sister Fireal of the Carmelite Monastery in Bethlehem. “She saw the crown of grace, saw her mother and father. But she heard a voice saying that your life is not yet over and you should return to Earth.”
According to Baouardy’s account, a young nun dressed in blue healed her, cared for her, and led her to the church. It was, she believed, the Virgin Mary.
Baouardy led a life of service to the poor and to the church.
‘The journey continues’
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the canonization of the two women affirmed his people’s “determination to build a sovereign, independent and free Palestine based on the principles of equal citizenship and the values of spirituality and sublime humanity.”
“Our Holy Land has become a bastion of virtue for the entire world, and we are grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis and the Catholic Church for their observance and interest of the seed of virtue that has grown in Palestine,” Abbas said. “Palestine is not a land of war; it is rather a land of sanctity and virtue, as God intended it to be.”
The conferring of sainthood on the two women held great meaning for ordinary Palestinian Christians, as well.
“It’s a message for the whole world that Palestinian Christians do exist in this land, and that Palestinian Christians have a heritage of more than 2,000 years,” said Nashat Filmon, the director of the Palestinian Bible Society.
“And the journey continues.”
What are the top stories today? Click to watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list..ROME — They were humble women, servants of God. And of their fellow men and women in the holy land.
On Sunday, in a canonization laden with significance both religious and political, Pope Francis declared Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Baouardy the first two Palestinian saints of modern times.
Some 2,000 Palestinians gathered in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square to sing and pray and celebrate their saints. There, they heard the Pope pay tribute to the way in which the two new saints experienced the love of God.
‘Eternal love’
“Sister Mariam Baouardy experienced this in an outstanding way. Poor and uneducated, she was able to counsel others and provide theological explanations with extreme clarity, the fruit of her constant converse with the Holy Spirit. Her docility to the Spirit also made her a means of encounter and fellowship with the Muslim world,” the Pope said.
“So, too, Sister Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas came to understand clearly what it means to radiate the love of God … and to be a witness to meekness and unity. She shows us the importance of becoming responsible for one another, of living lives of service one to another,” he said.
‘A light in the tunnel’
In the Holy Land, Palestinians tried to express what the canonization meant to them.
“As Christians, this is a sign of hope, this is a light in the tunnel,” said Father Jamal Khader, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. “Especially now in the Middle East, with all the events, with all the violence. We are celebrating the lives of two saints who worked humbly for everyone and who proved to be true followers of Jesus Christ.”
The Vatican wants to be seen as part of the peace process in the Middle East, and Pope Francis has made that a priority. And Francis can be expected at some point to take similar action on the Israeli side.
As political as the canonizations may have been, they carried deep spiritual meaning, as well.
Visions of the Virgin
Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in the 1840s to a devout Christian family. She became a nun, dedicating herself to a life of quiet servitude.
In Bethlehem, she said she began to receive visions of the Virgin Mary telling her to start a new congregation for Arab girls, called Sisters of the Rosary.
Ghattas’ hard work and her profound devotion led to the founding of the Rosary Sisters Convent. It was Ghattas’ home, which she donated to the convent to spread education and culture to those in need.
“Sometimes God creates from these weak people something great,” said Sister Agatha, a member of the Rosary Sisters congregation in Jerusalem.
A throat slit, a miracle occurs
Baouardy was born in Ibillin, a small village in Galilee, also in the 1840s. She was the 13th child in her family, and the only one to survive past infancy.
Her parents died when she was 3 years old, and her uncle raised her.
In Alexandria, Egypt, one of her uncle’s servants told her to convert to Islam. When she refused, the servant slit her throat.
It was then that Baouardy’s miracle began.
“Mariam became a martyr, and she went to heaven,” said Sister Fireal of the Carmelite Monastery in Bethlehem. “She saw the crown of grace, saw her mother and father. But she heard a voice saying that your life is not yet over and you should return to Earth.”
According to Baouardy’s account, a young nun dressed in blue healed her, cared for her, and led her to the church. It was, she believed, the Virgin Mary.
Baouardy led a life of service to the poor and to the church.
‘The journey continues’
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the canonization of the two women affirmed his people’s “determination to build a sovereign, independent and free Palestine based on the principles of equal citizenship and the values of spirituality and sublime humanity.”
“Our Holy Land has become a bastion of virtue for the entire world, and we are grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis and the Catholic Church for their observance and interest of the seed of virtue that has grown in Palestine,” Abbas said. “Palestine is not a land of war; it is rather a land of sanctity and virtue, as God intended it to be.”
The conferring of sainthood on the two women held great meaning for ordinary Palestinian Christians, as well.
“It’s a message for the whole world that Palestinian Christians do exist in this land, and that Palestinian Christians have a heritage of more than 2,000 years,” said Nashat Filmon, the director of the Palestinian Bible Society.
“And the journey continues.” and women in the holy land.
Preious:
Bl. Mariam Baouardy - Mary of Jesus Crucified - to be canonized on May 17 in Rome
Bl. Mariam Baouardy, the "Lily of Palestine" and foundress of the Carmel of Bethlehem will be canonized on May 17 in Rome
For more on her life click here>>>
(Vatican Radio) The Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals, which took place on Saturday, February 14th, 2015, in St Peter’s Basilica, saw also the approval of the canonisations of three Blessed of the Church: Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve; Mary of Jesus Crucified Baouardy; Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas. The Holy Father also announced that the date of the canonisations is May 17, 2015 - the same day on which Bl. Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception, Foundress of of the Sisters, Expiatory Victims of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, whose canonisation was approved October 20, 2014. Below, please find some brief biographical information on the three soon-to-be canonised saints approved on Sunday.
- Blessed Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve was born in France, in Toulouse in 1811. She founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception for the education of poor girls and children, for the sick and for missions in faraway lands. She died of cholera on October 2nd 1854. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
- Blessed Mary Alphonsine Danil Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in 1843. When she was 15 she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition. She worked tirelessly to help young people and Christian mothers. She had a special mystic affinity with the Mother of God. She founded the Congregation of Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem, to which she belonged. She died in 1927 and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
- Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Baouardy was born Maria Baouardy in Abellin, a village in Upper Galilee, near Nazareth, in 1846 of Arab parents. She was baptized in the Melchite Greek Catholic Church. From early youth she experienced many sufferings together with extraordinary mystic phenomena. In France, she entered the Carmel of Pau. She was sent to India to found new Carmels, and then to Bethlehem, where she died in 1878. She was beatified by St John Paul II in 1983.
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