Pope Francis declares Blessed Nicholas Maria Alberta a saint of the Church

A group of forty pilgrims led by the bishop from Córdoba traveled to Rome, Demetrio FernandezMiguel Varona, director of the Diocesan Secretariat for the Saints, was also present.

In Aguilar, at about the same time as the canonization, the bells of the Convent of the Discalced Carmelite Mothers began to ring. A thanksgiving celebration is planned at Carmen’s parish this afternoon.

Pope Francis has said in his sermon that those who follow Jesus Christ should learn from him and serve. The Holy Father said that three words: compassion, closeness and tenderness should define Christian commitment. He further said that Christians should yearn for service, not power, in a lifestyle that arises from love and has no limits.

He Pope Pius XI He had already beatified Nicolas Maria Alberta of Aguilar in 1926. In Aguilar the house in which the saint lived is still preserved and is located on the street that now bears his name. However, he was born in another house now located on Mercedares Street.

A Brief History of Nicolas Maria Alberta

He was assassinated in Damascus. Every year his holiday was celebrated on 10 July with services and a procession which passed by the house where he lived. On the night of July 9 to 10, 1860, a group of Druze militiamen crossed from Lebanon to Syria, razing the city. damascus And among his victims were many members of the Christian community.

That morning, Aguilar’s man and seven other companions were at the Franciscan church, all of them Spanish except one of Austrian nationality. There he was surrounded and demanded to renounce Christianity. Something that he did not do and that is why he was murdered.

first years of life Death of new saint nicholas maria alberta In Aguilar. There he attended school and worked in a store. He resigned this position because it was not compatible with the life of piety and prayer he wanted to lead. He started working in the fields with his father and uncle.

His confessor instructed him to enter the group of novice brothers Jesus Nazareno Hospital in Córdoba And, from there, he went to Madrid. He was ordained a priest in the Franciscan order in the city of Priego de Cuenca in 1858. Shortly thereafter he began his missionary work in the Holy Land where he died at the age of less than 30.