. Sisters Mariam Bwardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas among four nuns who were canonised by the Pope today
- Pair, who were canonised with two other nuns, lived in what was 19th century Palestine and are the first saints from the Holy Land since early days of Christianity
- Church officials holding up the women as a sign of hope and encouragement for Christians across the Middle East
- Ceremony in St Peter's Square attended by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and delegation from Israel
Pope
Francis described Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as an 'angel of
peace' before he canonised two 19th century nuns in hopes of encouraging
Christians across the Middle East who are facing a wave of persecution
from Islamic extremists.
Sisters
Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas, who lived in what was 19th
century Palestine, were among four nuns made saints today at a Mass in
a sun-soaked St. Peter's Square.
President
Abbas joined an estimated 2,000 pilgrims from the region, many of them
waving Palestinian flags, for the canonisation of the first saints
from the Holy Land since the early years of Christianity.
Pope
Francis greets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following a
canonisation ceremony for two 19th century nuns - the first new saints
from the Holy Land since the early days of Christianity
The pope described the Palestinian
leader as an 'angel of peace' yesterday, and greeted him with a warm
embrace when they met today
When
he and Pope Francis met yesterday, the Pope described the Palestinian
president as 'an angel of peace', and church officials are holding up
Bawardy and Ghattas as a sign of hope and encouragement for Christians
across the Middle East at a time when violent persecution and
discrimination have driven many Christians from the region of Christ's
birth.
The
two nuns were canonised along with two other nuns, Saints Jeanne Emilie
de Villeneuve from France and Maria Cristina of the Immaculate
Conception from Italy.
'Inspired
by their example of mercy, charity and reconciliation, may the
Christians of these lands look with hope to the future, following the
path of solidarity and fraternal coexistence,' Pope Francis said of the
women at the end of his Mass today.
Bawardy
was a mystic born in 1843 in the village of Ibilin in what is now the
Galilee region of northern Israel. She is said to have received the
'stigmata' - bleeding wounds like those that Jesus Christ suffered on
the cross - and died at the age of 33 in the West Bank town of
Bethlehem, where she founded a Carmelite order monastery that still
exists.
Tapestries
showing St. Mariam Bawardy (left) and St Marie Alphonsine Ghattas
(right), who both lived in what was 19th century Palestine and have
become the first saints from the Holy Land since the early years of
Christianity
St Emilie
de Villeneuve (left) from France and St Maria Cristina of the Immaculate
Conception (right), who lived in Italy, were also made saints at
today's service
Abbas (pictured second from left) was described as an 'angel of peace' when he and Pope Francis met yesterday
Ghattas,
who was born in Jerusalem in 1847, opened girls' schools, fought female
illiteracy, and co-founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the
Rosary. The order today boasts dozens of centers all over the Middle
East, from Egypt to Syria, that operate nursery schools, homes for the
elderly, medical clinics and guest houses.
The canonisation of Ghattas and
Baouardy, was not directly connected with the Vatican's
announcement of a new accord with the State of Palestine on Wednesday.
But the ceremony highlighted Pope Francis'
drive to help embattled Christian communities in the Middle
East.
In
his homily, Francis praised Bawardy as having been 'a means of
encounter and fellowship with the Muslim world,' and told the huge
congregation that Ghattas 'shows us the importance of becoming
responsible for one another, of living lives of service to one another.'
'Their luminous example challenges us in our lives as Christians,' he said.
Cheering crowds waved Palestinian flags and banners featuring portraits of the nuns as they cheered in the warm sunshine
A packed St Peter's square during
today's service. Church officials are holding up Bawardy and Ghattas as a
sign of hope and encouragement for Christians across the Middle east at
a time when violent persecution and discrimination have driven many
Christians from the region
Tapestries depicting the four new saints hang from the facade of St Peter's basilica during today's Papal mass
Catholic priests attend the Holy Mass in St Peter's square today, some sporting hats in the warm Roman sunshine
SISTERS FROM THE HOLY LAND: WHO WERE MARIE ALPHONSINE GHATTAS AND MARIAM BAWARDY?
Maria
Alphonsine Ghattas was born Soultaneh Maria Ghattas to a Palestinian
family in Ottoman Empire-ruled Jerusalem in October 1843.
She
spent her entire life working with the poor of Palestine, and when she
was just 14 joined the Congregation of St Joseph of the Apparition as a
postulant. In 1862, after taking her vows, she was sent to teach in
Bethlehem.
While
there, after claimed Mary had appeared to her and instructed her to do
so, she co-founded the 'Sisters of the Rosary', which was set up in
1880 with Ghattas granted permission from Rome to leave the Sisters of
St Joseph for the new order.
Maria Alphonsine Ghattas was born
Soultaneh Maria Ghattas to a Palestinian family in Ottoman Empire-ruled
Jerusalem in October 1843, and spent her entire life working with the
poor
Throughout
her life, Ghattas opened girls' schools and was a tireless campaigner
against female illiteracy. The members of the order she founded now
boasts dozens of centers all over the Middle East, from Egypt to Syria,
and operate nursery schools, orphanages, homes for the elderly, medical
clinics and guest houses.
Ghattas
died in Ein Karem on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1927 and
was beatified - the final step before canonisation - in 2009 at the
Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, by Cardinal Angelo Amato.
Pope Francis recognised a miracle attributed to her intercession, a requirement for her canonisation, in December last year.
Mariam
Bawardy was a mystic born in 1843 in the village of Ibilin in what is
now the Galilee region of northern Israel. She was her parents' 13th
child and their first daughter, but none of her brothers had survived
infancy.
Bawardy
was born after her mother, Mariam Chahine, and father, Giries, who were
of Damascene ancestry, walked 70 miles from their home to Bethlehem as a
desperate pilgrimage following the loss of their children. When Bawardy
was born they named her after the Virgin Mary in gratitude, and two
years later they welcomed her brother Boulous.
Mariam Bawardy was a mystic born in
1843 in the village of Ibilin in what is now the Galilee region of
northern Israel. She was her parents' 13th child and their first
daughter, but none of her brothers had survived infancy
However,
both parents died in 1848 and the young siblings were taken in by
different family members and never saw each other again, with Bawardy
being raised by her uncle who moved to Alexandria in Egypt when she was
eight.
When
Bawardy was 13 she became engaged to her uncle's wife's brother but the
night before the wedding had a religious experience which prompted her
not to marry and instead offer her life to God. Despite being beaten by
her angry uncle, Bawardy was determined to stand by her decision.
She
then wrote to her brother, who was living in Nazareth and asked him to
visit her, but the servant she asked to deliver the letter tried to
seduce her, and convince her to convert to Islam. When she refused, he
flew into an angry rage and cut her throat before dumping her body in an
alleyway.
She
later said that a 'nun dressed in blue' had found her and stitched up
her wounds, nursing her back to health until she was strong enough to
find work as a servant in the home of a Christian family, where she
donated much of her wages to the poor.
In
1863, with the help of a generous patron, Bawardy was able to move to
France where she became a nun. She later worked in India, before helping
to found a new Carmelite monastery in Bethlehem, where she died of
cancer in 1878.
Bawardy,
who is said to have received the 'stigmata' - bleeding wounds like
those that Jesus Christ suffered on the cross - was beatified by pope
John Paul II in 1983.
In
his homily today, Francis praised Bawardy as having been 'a means of
encounter and fellowship with the Muslim world,' and said that Ghattas
'shows us the importance of becoming responsible for one another, of
living lives of service to one another.'
Bassam
Abbas, a Palestinian-born doctor who has lived in Italy for 35 years,
travelled from Civitavecchia, northwest of Rome, for the event with his
wife and three children. They are Muslim, but their children go to a
Catholic school.
'We
are proud of this event,' Abbas said outside St Peter's Square as he
waved a giant Palestinian flag. 'We want peace for Palestine, peace
which transcends religion.'
Many
of the hundreds of people who had packed into the Square waved
Palestinian flags, as well as large banners depicting the new saints,
while portraits of the women hung from the walls of the basilica.
Sainthood
is usually confirmed by the Catholic Church when two miracles - often
the inexplicable healing of a sick person - are attributed to the
intercession of a holy person who has died.
In
addition to the Palestinian delegation on hand for the Mass, Israel
sent a delegation of senior clergy headed by its ambassador to the Holy
See and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, while France,
Italy and Jordan also sent official delegations.
In a statement as he departed for the Vatican last week,
Twal said Ghattas and Baouardy, who entered religious orders as
teenagers in the late 1800s and died in 1927 and 1878
respectively, were an example for Christians, Muslims and Jews.
'It is a sign of our modern time which suggests that we can
talk about the three religions without any discrimination,' the
patriarch's statement said.
The canonisations of the two Palestinians were the first of
their kind 'since the days of the apostles,' Twal said.
President Abbas, wearing a baseball cap to shield his eyes from the bright sunshine, watches the service intently
Pope Francis makes his way through St Peter's Square for today's service
A Palestinian nun carries relics of
the new saints to the altar during the Holy Mass, which was celebrated
in her homeland as well as in St Peter's Square
Relics of the four new saints are carried to the altar during the canonisation service earlier today
The Pope leads the congregation in the Regina Coeli prayer at the end of the holy mass for the canonisation ceremony today
Pope Francis' face gets covered by his pellegrina due to a gust of wind as he leads the Holy Mass
The Pope blesses a young child at the
end of the Holy mass, tenderly touching her head as she was held up to
him by members of the crowd
In the
birthplace of Christianity, Christians make up less than two per cent
of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Although
they have not experienced the violent persecution that has decimated
Christian communities elsewhere in the region, the population has
gradually shrunk over the decades as Christians have fled conflict or
sought better opportunities abroad.
During
his time as Pope, Francis has raised the plight of Christians across
the Middle East as a cause for concern, denouncing how the Islamic State
group has violently driven thousands of religious minorities from their
homes in Syria and Iraq.
Francis
told Abbas 'you are an angel of peace' as he presented the Palestinian
leader with a medallion on Saturday during the traditional exchange of
gifts at the end of an official audience in the Apostolic Palace.
He said the medallion was an appropriate gift as it represented the 'angel of peace destroying the bad spirit of war.'
During his 2014 visit to Israel and the West Bank, Francis called both Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres men of peace.
Abbas'
visit comes days after the Vatican finalized a bilateral treaty with
the 'state of Palestine' that made explicit its recognition of
Palestinian statehood.
The
Vatican said it had expressed 'great satisfaction' over the new treaty
during the talks with the Palestinian delegation. It said the pope, and
later the Vatican secretary of state, also expressed hopes that direct
peace talks with Israel would resume.
'To
this end, the wish was reiterated that with the support of the
international community, Israelis and Palestinians may take with
determination courageous decisions to promote peace,' a Vatican
statement said.
It added that interreligious dialogue was needed to combat terrorism.
Israel
has not commented on Francis' 'angel of peace' compliment but
complained that Abbas was using the trip to score political points.
'It
is regrettable that Mahmoud Abbas uses international forums to attack
Israel and refrains from returning to negotiations which is the right
way to implement a political vision and a solution of peace,' said
Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon.
Israel
earlier had expressed its 'disappointment' that the Vatican officially
recognized the state of Palestine in the treaty, which covers the
activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory.
The canonisation of Ghattas
andBaouardy, was not directly connected with the Vatican'sannouncement
of a new accord with the State of Palestine on Wednesday. But the
ceremony highlighted Pope Francis'drive to help embattled Christian
communities in the MiddleEast
The Pope greets the cheering crowds at
the end of the service, many of whom were waving Palestinian flags
bearing the message 'Palestine: Land of Jesus, Land of Saints'
Sainthood is usually confirmed by the
Catholic Church when two miracles - often the inexplicable healing of a
sick person - are attributed to the intercession of a holy person who
has died
FIRST CUBA, AND NOW PALESTINE: POPE FRANCIS FLEXES HIS DIPLOMATIC MUSCLES
Pope Francis meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas during an audience at the Vatican yesterday
Since
becoming Pope in 2013, Pope Francis has not been afraid to mix theology
with politics, often dealing out hard-hitting criticisms of
globalisation and inequality.
But
His Holiness has recently turned his hand to international diplomacy,
and last year helped to broker an historic accord between Cuba and the
United States after half a century of hostility.
On
Wednesday last week, the Pope's office announced the first formal
accord between the Vatican and the State of Palestine - a treaty that
gives legal weight to the Holy See's longstanding recognition of
de-facto Palestinian statehood, despite clear Israeli annoyance.
The
pope ruffled even more feathers in Turkey last month by referring to
the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the early 20th century as
a 'genocide', something Ankara denies.
After
the inward-looking pontificate of his scholarly predecessor, Pope
Benedict, Francis has in some ways returned to the active Vatican
diplomacy practised by the globetrotting Pope John Paul II, who was
widely credited for helping to end the Cold War.
Much
of his effort has concentrated on improving relations between different
faiths and protecting the embattled Middle East Christians, a clear
priority for the Catholic Church.
However,
in an increasingly fractured geopolitical world, his diplomacy is less
obviously aligned to one side in a global standoff between competing
blocs than that of John Paul's 27-year-long papacy.
This
is reinforced by his status as the world's first pope from Latin
America, a region whose turbulent history, widespread poverty and
love-hate relationship with the United States has given him an entirely
different political grounding from any of his European predecessors.
'Under
this pope, the Vatican's foreign policy looks South,' said Massimo
Franco, a prominent Italian political commentator and author of several
books on the Vatican.
He
said the pope has been careful to avoid taking sides on issues like
Ukraine, where he has never defined Russia as an aggressor, but has
always referred to the conflict between the government and Moscow-backed
rebels as a civil war.
That
approach is intended to ensure he remains more credible with countries
like Syria, Russia or Cuba, all nations where Francis feels he can help
local Christians best by steering an independent course.
Francis
already has his hands full overhauling the Vatican's complex internal
bureaucracy after a series of financial and sexual scandals involving
abuse of children by priests which date back decades.
But
clearly deeply interested in how the world outside the walls of the
Vatican works, he appears determined to use his position and the huge
global audience he commands to challenge entrenched diplomatic positions
as well.
The
former secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a veteran insider
whose office formerly controlled both relations with foreign powers and
many internal Vatican affairs, has been replaced. His office has been
downgraded to resemble a more classical diplomatic service while Francis
has set a bolder, more personal stamp on Vatican foreign policy.
'He's
someone who's capable of praying in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and
then talking about the Armenian genocide. He's not someone who's bound
by political correctness,' said former Italian Foreign Minister Franco
Frattini.
'It's the diplomacy of a real leader.'
Whether
it is to the taste of all the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, world
politicians with priorities of their own or even the many layers of the
Church's own administration is another matter.
With
many conservative Catholics unhappy about the pope's focus on issues
like economic injustice and his relatively tolerant tone on sensitive
social topics like homosexuality and the status of divorced people,
pronounced views on delicate diplomatic issues could cause further
division in the Church.
Since becoming Pope in 2013, Pope
Francis has not been afraid to mix theology with politics, often dealing
out hard-hitting criticisms of globalisation and inequality
It
is a point where he will be particularly tested in September on his
upcoming visit to the United States, where some conservative U.S.
Catholics are openly hostile.
After
helping to foster last year's agreement reviving diplomatic relations
between Havana and Washington, Francis reaped criticism from many U.S.
conservatives, including Marco Rubio, a candidate for the Republican
nomination for president.
Rubio,
the son of Cuban immigrants and a practising Catholic, avoided directly
admonishing the pope, but said he should 'take up the cause of freedom
and democracy' in Cuba.
That
kind of veiled criticism from a politician who would normally be
considered a staunch Church ally reflects the wider unease some
Catholics feel at the change Francis has ushered in at one of the
world's most conservative institutions.
'Bishops complain that he becomes popular by attacking the Church,' said Mr Frattini.
'He
speaks directly to the people and doesn't respect the usual command
structures. He decides on his own or with people who are not those who
previously had a central role.'
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