Pope Francis canonizes 14 new saints: among them the “Martyr of Damascus”

He Pope Francis 14 new saints were announced this Sunday, including “Martyrs of Damascus”Symbols of killings and Christian persecution in Syria during the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century.

Francis presided over the canonization ceremony in St. Peter’s Square in the presence of thousands of Catholic faithful from around the world.

“We inscribe them among the saints, deciding that they will be revered by the entire Church.”Francisco announced after pronouncing each name.

canonization It is the final step toward sainthood after canonization in the Catholic Church.

Three conditions are necessary, the most important of which is that the individual has created at least two miraclesHe must have died at least five years ago and must have lived an exemplary Christian life.

are in group 11 people known as the “Martyrs of Damascus”who have become Almost 160 years after his death, St.

Eight Franciscan monks from a monastery and three Maronite laymen – all brothers – were murdered by Druze militants in July 1860 in the Syrian capital, which was then under Ottoman rule.

it’s about spanish manuel ruiz lopez (Burgos, 1804), who was at that time superior of the Convent of San Pablo and the victim of the wrath of the mob of Druze who ravaged the Christian soil of Damascus on the night of July 9, 1860. About 30,000 people lived there, thousands of them murdered and some took refuge in the monastery of Ruiz and the rest in smaller monks.

with He beheaded seven Franciscans who are still canonized todayThey include the Spaniards Carmelo Bolta, Nicanor Ascencio, Nicolás María Alberta, Pedro Nolasco Soler, Francisco Pinazo Peñalvar and Juan Fernández, and the Austrian Engelbert Koland.

The religious received an offer from the Ottoman governor at the time to take refuge in his residence, but they rejected it, as they did not want to leave the people alone seeking safety in the convent.

He was also declared a saint in the ceremony Maronite common man Francesco Massabaki, Mooti Massabaki and Raphael Massabaki. They were three brothers from Damascene closely associated with the Franciscan community, who were held with the rest of the monks in the Convent of San Pablo, where they were also murdered in the same massacre.

they were all Beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

is home to damascus One of the oldest Christian communities in the worldBut according to the Vatican, today its Christian population has declined to only two percent.

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, many civilians, whether Christian or not, have left the city.

The martyrdom of the Damascus group canonized on Sunday “is not very different from the situation of many Christians in the Middle East today,” he wrote. vatican newsOfficial news portal of the Vatican.

Three others, who died in the early 20th century, founded religious communities.

This is the Italian missionary giuseppe allamano (1851–1926), Italian nun, founder of the Institute of Consolata Missionaries and the Missionary Sisters of Consolata elena guerra (1835-1914), Founder of the Congregation of Oblates of the Holy Spirit – known as the Sisters of St. Zita – and Canadian Marie-Leone Paradis (1840-1912), Founder of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family.

In May, Pope Francis announced he would canonize the Italian teenager carlos acutis,

London-born teen spent his life spreading his faith on the Internet, earning the nickname ,influential person God’s”Before dying of leukemia in 2006.

The date of canonization has not been decided yet may happen in 2025The Church’s Jubilee year, when more than 30 million pilgrims are expected to visit Rome.

After the canonization ceremony, Francis celebrates traditional Angelus sermonIn which he urged people to pray for the end of the ongoing wars in different parts of the world, among them “Martyr Palestine”, the first time he uses this adjective to refer to the Palestinian territories.

“We continue to pray for the population suffering because of the warMartyrs Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Martyrs Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar” the pontiff said before the faithful in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

“We ask for the gift of peace from all (warring countries)”said Francisco, who in his speeches usually repeats his appeal for an end to armed conflicts in the world, and usually alludes to both PalestineLike israel one of the two ukraine,

However, he used the word “martyr” only for Ukraine and this Sunday he extended it to Palestine as well.

This week the Pope received a delegation led by a former Israeli Prime Minister ehud olmert and former Palestinian Foreign Minister Naser Al Kidwanephew of historical leader Yasser ArafatThey promote a peace plan to end the war in Gaza and find a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict which they presented to the Pope at their meeting.

(With information from AFP and EFE)