Vatican City, Oct 23, 2010 / 09:03 am
The saints are “fascinating guides” to faith, hope and love who show that ordinary people bring God's comfort and light to the world, commented Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi.
On Oct. 17, Pope Benedict XVI canonized the Church's six newest saints in St. Peter Square. Fr. Lombardi commented on this event during his "Octava Dies" (Eighth Day) weekly television editorial this week.
This year's canonizations were particularly special, he explained, because of the origins of two of the saints in the group, Sts. Mary MacKillop and Andre Bessette. They hail from two nations with few canonized saints, Australia and Canada.
Canadian and Australian pilgrims flew their flags throughout the square before and after the ceremony. They were joined in the celebration by many others from Spain, Italy and Poland, the homelands of the four other new saints.