Sunday's canonizations show the important role Arabs have in Christianity
Tapestry of Sister Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas at St Peter's Basilica on May 16 (Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA)
The Catholic Church’s celebration of the canonization of two new women saints from Palestine on Sunday helps recognize both women’s important role in Arab culture and Arabs’ important role in Christianity.
“These two humble and simple women, consecrated women, give us also encouragement to pray for peace,” said Fr Rifat Bader, general director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Amman, Jordan.
He was in Rome for the May 17 canonizations of Saints Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas.
Saint Marie Alphonsine herself called for prayer of the Rosary “for peace and tranquility in our region,” Fr Bader told CNA ahead of the event.
Pope Francis presided over the canonizations and Mass in Saint Peter’s Square, before a congregation of tens of thousands of people.
The pope urged the faithful to follow the "luminous example" of the two 19th-century sisters and two others, from France and Italy, who were canonized along with them.
Fr Bader said the canonizations of the two Arab saints are “a good example for all the citizens,” Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike. The canonizations show “that the woman can do positive and good things in her society.”
“It’s very important issue to talk about the mission, or the role, of women in our Arab countries,” Fr Bader said, explaining that the role of a woman within society and within her own family is not always recognized for its importance.
“Now, when we talk about these two examples, of saints, women, from the Holy Land, it gives encouragement for the woman to go ahead and to go forward.”
One of the new Palestinian saints, Sister Mariam Bawardy (1846-1878) was a mystic and stigmatic also known as Mary Jesus Crucified. She was a Palestinian and founder of the Discalced Carmelites of Bethlehem. She and her family were members of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. She spent time in France and India before helping to found the Carmelite congregation in Bethlehem in 1875.
The other new Palestinian saint, Sister Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas (1843-1927), was a co-founder of the Congregation of the Rosary Sisters. Born in Palestine, she spent much of her life in Bethlehem and its area, where she helped the poor and established schools and orphanages.
Fr Bader explained the joint identity of being Arab and Christian simultaneously.
“We have the possibility to be saints, even if we are Arabs,” he said. “It’s not something impossible.”
The region is not unknown for its saints. “The Virgin Mary herself was living in the Holy Land,” Fr Bader observed. Also from the region were all the companions of Jesus Christ, including Saint Peter who was buried at the very basilica where the canonizations took place. “Now we have these new saints of the modern time,” he said. “That’s why we are happy: that modernity cannot forbid a person to be a saint.”
Around 2,000 pilgrims from the Palestinian territories, Israel and Jordan, some waving Palestinian flags, attended the mass as well as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who had a private audience with the pope on Saturday.
During his meeting with Abbas on Saturday, the pontiff called him an "angel of peace" and the two discussed the peace process with Israel, the Vatican said.
The Palestinian women were canonized alongside two others: Saint Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve (1811-1854) and Saint Maria Cristina Brando (1856-1906), from France and Italy, respectively.
Francis urged the faithful to "follow in the footsteps" of the four women, whom he called "models of sanctity."
Additional reporting by AFP
Original story: For Arab Christianity, new women saints give encouraging example
Source: Catholic News Agency
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