Thousands of devoted Catholics have travelled across the globe to witness the conferment of sainthood of six remarkable people on Sunday. Two of the recently conferred faithful were Indians while the remaining four were Italians.
The newly added saints were Rev. Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Sister Eufrasia Eluvathingal--both of Indian descent--and Italian devotees Giovanni Antonio Farina, Ludovico da Casoria, Nicola da Longobardi, and Amato Ronconi.
"They responded with extraordinary creativity to the commandment to love of God and neighbor," shared Pope Francis to the audience attending the solemn event at St. Peter's Square in Vatican. "Their preference for the smallest and poorest was the reflection and measure of their unconditional love of God," the pope added.
Rev. Chavara played a major role in the development of the Syro-Malabar Church. He was the founder of two of the Carmelite congregations located in India during the 19th century. Moreover, Rev. Chavara worked hard to achieve his goal of bringing a clearer understanding of religion to children by decreeing that each church must be granted its own school to govern.
Sister Eufrasia, who was born in 1877, had been baptized as 'Rose'. She chose to pursue the life of a Carmelite nun, a sisterhood she founded herself. Throughout her lifetime, Sister Eufrasia led an isolated existence. At nine years old, the Carmelite sister already decided to take on the vow of chastity. Her devotion to the principles and ideals of her sisterhood gained her the reputation as the 'praying mother'. Sister Eufrasia's canonization marked the second time India had a female saint, the first happening six years ago.
The canonization of both Indian saints had been attended by roughly 5,000 devotees who came from the Kerala state. Those who were not able to join the journey to personally witness the occasion had been provided a livestream broadcast set up in the outer portion of the churches in India.
"Today is a big day for Indian people, especially for Indian people coming from Kerala," shared Kerala pilgrim Elsy Chandy Plammoottil. "We got two saints: Eufrasia Eluvathingal and Kuriakose Eli as Chavara. They are very important people for us."
On the other hand, Farina had served as Vicenza's bishop during the latter parts of the 1800s while Casoria, Longobardi, and Ronconi functioned as missionaries. Pope Francis shared his hope that the new Italian saints, who were born in Vicenza, Cosenza, Naples, and Rimini, would "help the dear Italian people to rekindle the spirit of collaboration and harmony for the public good, and to look to the future with hope."
