Joy in Nazareth as Palestinian nun beatified
Thousands of Christians gathered in the town of Nazareth in the Holy Land yesterday for the beatification of Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas, co-founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem.
Thousands of Christians gathered in the town of Nazareth in the Holy Land yesterday for the beatification of Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas, co-founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem.
Palestinian Magdolin Koresh, 13, attends Arabic class at the Rosary Sisters' High School in Jerusalem. The school is run by the order whose founder, Mother Marie Alphonsine, was beatified yesterday. (CNS photo/Debbie Hill)
In Rome yesterday, Pope Benedict praised Mother Ghattas for her work which helped girls in the region overcome illiteracy.
The ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes and special Vatican envoy at the event. It was held in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
Speaking ahead of the Angelus, Pope Benedict said Mother Ghattas had "the merit" of having founded "a congregation formed solely of women of the region, with the purpose of religious instruction, to overcome illiteracy and improve the conditions of the women of that time in the land where Jesus himself exalted their dignity."
He added, “The beatification of this very significant figure of a woman is of special comfort to the Catholic community in the Holy Land and it is an invitation to always trust, with firm hope, in Divine Providence and Mary's maternal protection."
Mother Ghattas (1843-1927) was born Soultaneh Maria, as a Palestinian in Jerusalem.
She founded the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem in the 1880s.
The order is highly regarded in Palestinian communities and continues to run schools for Palestinian girls in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
She died in Jerusalem in 1927 at the age of 83.
The ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes and special Vatican envoy at the event. It was held in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
Speaking ahead of the Angelus, Pope Benedict said Mother Ghattas had "the merit" of having founded "a congregation formed solely of women of the region, with the purpose of religious instruction, to overcome illiteracy and improve the conditions of the women of that time in the land where Jesus himself exalted their dignity."
He added, “The beatification of this very significant figure of a woman is of special comfort to the Catholic community in the Holy Land and it is an invitation to always trust, with firm hope, in Divine Providence and Mary's maternal protection."
Mother Ghattas (1843-1927) was born Soultaneh Maria, as a Palestinian in Jerusalem.
She founded the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem in the 1880s.
The order is highly regarded in Palestinian communities and continues to run schools for Palestinian girls in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
She died in Jerusalem in 1927 at the age of 83.
For learn more about the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem please click WWW.ROSARY-CONG.COM.
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