POPE Benedict XVI canonized the first five saints under his pontificate last month.
The Supreme Pontiff raised to the altar two Italian pastors, two Polish-born prelates and a Chilean Jesuit on Oct. 23 during the culmination of the three-week Synod of Bishops that urged dioceses to boost recruitment of priests.
One of the five new saints, Italian priest Gaetano Catanoso (1879-1963), established the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Veronica, Missionaries of the Holy Face in 1934, and the Poor Clerics, an association of priests to encourage priestly vocations in 1920.
Also canonized was Felice of Nicosa (1715-1787), who was born Giacomo Amoroso before he entered the Capuchin order. According to the Pope, Felix (Felice) was faithful to the most genuine expressions of the Franciscan tradition.
“Bro. Felix helps us discover the value of the little things that make our lives more precious, and teaches us to understand the meaning of family and service to our brothers and sisters. He showed us that true and lasting joy, for which every human heart yearns, is the fruit of love,” the Pope said in his homily during canonization ceremony at the St. Peter’s Square.
Beatified on June 26, 2001 during John Paul II’s Apostolic visit to Ukraine, Polish Archbishop Jozef Bilczewski (1860-1923), meanwhile, was recognized for his 23-year pastoral service in the Archdiocese of Leopoli.
“St. Bilczewski was a man of prayer,” the 78-year-old Pope commented. “The Holy Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, meditation, the Rosary and other pious practices formed part of his daily life. A particularly long time was dedicated to Eucharistic adoration.”
On the other hand, responding to the call of priesthood, Zygmunt (1845-1920) entered the Latin Catholic Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine after a two-year stint in law school.
Aside from his 40-year service to the Parish of St. Nicolas, Gorazdowski founded Bonus Pastor, an association of priests which sponsored an institute for poor seminarians, St. Joseph’s Polish-German Catholic School and the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, a congregation that continues to serve the poor in Europe, Africa, and Brazil.
“In founding many other charitable institutions, Zygmunt Gorazdowski always allowed himself to be guided by the spirit of communion, fully revealed in the Eucharist,” the pope said.
Also coming from the legal field was Chilean Jesuit priest-lawyer Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga (1901-1952), who was beatified on October 16, 1994.
The Pope said the formation Cruchaga had from the Society of Jesus strengthened him to pursue his priestly vocation.
“’You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart…. You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ (Mt 22: 37, 39). This was the programme of the life of St. Hurtado, who wished to identify himself with the Lord and to love the poor with this same love,” he said.
Aside from writing the book Is Chile a Catholic Country?, Cruchaga also founded Mensaje, a well-known Jesuit periodical devoted to defending the doctrine of the Church. But above all, he is noted for establishing El Hogar de Cristo, a charitable institution distinguished for giving not only housing but a home-like environment to the homeless.
With his first canonization ceremony, the Pope has expressed his intentions of not presiding at beatifications anymore. He said that this will preserve the distinction between the two and will help him create a less “Pope-centered” Vatican.
Yet despite the announcement, Benedict led a beatification ceremony for French missionary Charles de Foucauld last Nov. 13.
From being a playboy to a hermit, de Foucauld was noted for having lived among the Tuareg people in the Sahara where he founded the missionary order Little Brothers of Jesus. He also pioneered a dialogue with the Muslims of Algeria where he died during an anti-French uprising in 1916.
