At Canonization, Pope Extols Brother Pedro as Example of Justice
700,000 Attend John Paul II's Mass in Guatemala
GUATEMALA CITY, JULY 30, 2002 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II canonized Brother Pedro de San José de Betancur, an event the Church in Central America has awaited for three centuries.
Some 700,000 people, many of them Indians, crowded into the capital city's Racetrack today for the canonization Mass. Many of those present were pilgrims from other Central American countries, as well as from Mexico and Spain. The newly canonized saint was born in the Canary Islands.
During the homily, the Pontiff urged that Brother Pedro's legacy be implemented.
«This heritage should inspire in Christians and in all citizens a desire to transform the human community into a great family, in which social, political and economic relations may be worthy of man,» he said.
The Holy Father appealed to those present to promote «the dignity of the person» with «the effective recognition of his inalienable rights.»
«Let us think of children and young people who are homeless or deprived of an education; of abandoned women with their many needs; of the hordes of social outcasts who live in the cities; of the victims of organized crime, of prostitution or of drugs; of the sick who are neglected and the elderly who live in loneliness,» the Pope added.
Brother Pedro (1626-1667), of the Third Order of St. Francis, was known for dressing the wounds of indigents whom he found on the streets, and carrying them to the sanatorium on his shoulders.
His work of care for the sick, Indians and the marginalized has been continued by the orders of the Bethlemite Brothers and the Bethlemite Sisters.
The Pope pronounced the canonization formula in Spanish: «We declare and define as saint Blessed Brother Pedro de San José de Betancur, and we inscribe him in the catalogue of saints.»
Thunderous applause, the singing of the «Amen» and the pealing of bells followed.
John Paul II explained that Brother Pedro reminds today's Christians «that training in holiness calls for a Christian life distinguished above all in the art of prayer.» The Pope appealed to Christian communities «to be authentic schools of prayer where all activity is centered on prayer.»
The Gospel was sung in Spanish and in Cakchiquel, the language of Guatemalan Indians. Archbishop Rodolfo Quezada Toruño of Guatemala also expressed greetings in Cakchiquel at the beginning of the ceremony.
Most of the participants had not slept the previous night. Prayer vigils were held around the country. At dawn, long human columns moved toward the capital's racetrack.
Some of the faithful from El Salvador, Panama and the Mexican state of Chiapas had traveled miles over poor roads, through rain and summer heat.
«When John Paul II arrived in the popemobile, it seemed as if the cries of the people would lift us off the ground,» young Costa Rican, Luis Solano, said.
«The emotion is enormous, I have never experienced something like this,» said Sergio Tib, a young Indian of Maya-Kiche origin, who arrived Monday from Sacatepequez, in western Guatemala. «I am going to pray for the peace and tranquility of my family and my country.»
A nun from Panama, Sister Maritza Molina, prayed with her hands clasped and her eyes closed. «The Pope is the symbol of dignity,» she said. «The will power and courage he has had to come here, to this poor country, is an example for all.»
At the end of the Mass, the Pope looked tired but he insisted on intoning all the sung parts of the liturgy, and delivered a message that he prepared at the last minute.
«I wish to tell you that you have moved me once again,» he said. «Guatemala, I carry you in my heart.»
After Mass, the Pope returned to the Apostolic Nunciature, where he slept the previous night. In the early afternoon, he bid Guatemala farewell at La Aurora International Airport, and departed for Mexico.
On Wednesday, the Holy Father will canonize Juan Diego in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On Thursday, he will beatify two Indian martyrs.
ZENIT - The World Seen from Rome
30. juli 2002