Pope Francis praised the passion of Argentina's new saint, Mama Antola, for evangelization. She gave Ignatian retreats in the 18th century because the Jesuits were persecuted in their time, asserted Francis, who himself belongs to the Jesuit order. On Friday, he spoke to an audience of Argentine pilgrims who traveled to Rome for the Argentine's beatification.
“I have learned what God wants from each of us so that we can discover his vocation, each one in his own life,” Francis said. Mama Antola (1730-1799) took her premise of “all things for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls” from Ignatian spirituality and nourished her entire work on behalf of and proclamation from it: “Even one of her main concerns,” Francis explained, “as the community of Jesus was oppressed, was to provide “Our own retreats to help everyone discover the beauty of following Christ.”
When the nun was prevented from accompanying the retreats due to society's hatred of the Jesuits, she decided to transfer her secretly. The Pope stressed that “we must not forget this dimension of secrecy, as it is very important.” “In this sense, another message that the Blessed One offers us in our world today is that we should not give up in the face of adversity, and that we should not give up our good intentions of bringing the Gospel to all, despite the challenges this poses. It can bring “Gifts with her.”
Sanctification on Sunday
Francis canonize his compatriot Maria Antonia di San Giuseppe de Paz y Figueroa next Sunday in St. Peter's. New Argentine President Javier Miley also arrived at the celebration, which the Pope intends to receive on Monday.
The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, is also in Rome. He told media representatives at the Vatican on Thursday that he hoped Pope Francis would visit his native Argentina. “People want to meet their shepherd. We are all waiting for him. We want to see him, we want to hear his words. We need his physical presence in our country.” This will be the first visit by Pope Francis to Argentina, who rarely left Argentina until before his election as pope.
Archbishop García Cuerva also noted that Argentina is currently experiencing one of the most serious crises in its history and that the Church must be close to the people in this situation. Argentines must learn to view the Pope as a world leader and no longer include him in the country's internal political discussions.
(Vatican News – A)
