CANONIZATION IN ROME  

I had the privilege of participating in the canonization of St. Charles of Mt. Argus, the newest Passionist saint. You have been hearing about him for some time now since Pope Benedict XVI announced this event on February 23 rd. We will be celebrating the life of this newest saint in the next week or so.  

Along with St. Charles, three others were also canonized: St.George Preca, a priest from Malta who created a society dedicated to teaching Christian Doctrine; St. Simon Lipnicy, a Polish Franciscan noted for his preaching and charity; and St. Marie Eugenie de Jesus Milleret, the French foundress of the Religious of the Assumption, dedicated to teaching.  

I was excited about attending the canonization at St. Peter’s but my excitement grew when Fr. Pat informed me that I would be one of the priests giving out Communion at the Mass. I thought to myself that I would probably get a great seat for the ceremony, close to the Pope and the altar. When we arrived at the Vatican on Sunday morning, it was raining. Of course, this did not deter anyone from being there. I was told to enter the side door of St. Peter’s and go to the Blessed Sacrament Altar where we would vest and await the procession. As it turned out, the rain continued throughout the ceremony. All of us who were to administer Communion had to stay indoors. While almost everyone else, including the concelebrants and cardinals and bishops in attendance and all the thousands of people in the piazza sat in the rain and got soaked, I remained inside very dry. However, being inside St. Peter’s meant that I could not even see the altar or the Pope. It was only at Communion time that I came outside for the short time necessary to distribute Communion and then back inside again. While I could hear every thing that was being said, I could see nothing.  

Was I disappointed? NO. I am so glad that I was there, to see the enthusiasm of the faithful gathered there at St. Peter’s, glad to hear the voice of Pope Benedict XVI proclaim the decision of the Church to recognize the exceptional virtue of St. Charles of Mt. Argus and the other new saints, glad to hear the roar of the crowd in giving its approval to the recognition of the saintliness of these three men and one woman.  

Later, not one person I spoke to was disappointed by the weather but all were happy to have been able to share that special time when we gathered with the Pope and the Christian Community in acknowledging the spiritual gifts of these four persons.  

When I was younger, I was inspired by the lives of the saints. I read with admiration and with some degree of envy their closeness to God and the total gift of themselves which they made in service of God in loving their neighbor. Later in life, I have grown away from devotion to the saints. Some of my youthful feelings about saints have returned because of my experience last Sunday. Each one of them models for us a way to live our lives in fulfillment of the Lord’s command to love God and to love our neighbor.