FROM SATANIC PRIEST TO ‘APOSTLE OF THE ROSARY'

By Addison Nugent, for OZY

ONE DAY, WHILE IN A PARANOID STUPOR, THE YOUNG MAN HEARD THE VOICE OF HIS DEAD FATHER CALL OUT: “RETURN TO GOD!”

Emaciated from fasting and cloaked in a black robe, Bartolo Longo entered the satanic church in Naples, Italy, determined to go to the dark side. The 23-year-old law student with the devilishly pointed beard walked skull-lined halls to the sacrificial altar, his eyes glittering. Much later, Longo would recount that night in 1864, when the walls of the church shook and the air filled with the unearthly shrieks of demons. After reciting occult dedications and swearing an oath, he was anointed with defiled sacred oils, whereupon he entered a trance. It was in this dream state that Longo pledged his soul to the assembly, abandoning the God of his upbringing for the Prince of Darkness.

Aleteia: Christians who have given their life for Christ in 2017

Aleteia provides an overview of some recent 21st-century martyrs.

The blood of martyrs continues to be the seed of new Christians at the beginning of 2018. This is the conclusion we can draw from reviewing the testimonies of men and women who, in various countries around the world, have shed their blood for their faith in Jesus.

Below, we offer a list of present-day witnesses to the Gospel who have been faithful to the very end.

The list is necessarily incomplete. If you know other cases of Christians of any denomination who have been killed for their faith in Christ, please mention their names in the comments below this article, offering sources that will allow us to document the circumstances of their death.

1. Pakistan: Brutally killed at 15 years of age because he was a Christian [Killed by Muslims]

Mushtaq Gill, a Christian lawyer handling the case, explains that Masih’s death is a terrible example of Christian persecution in that country: “Violence begins at the desks in the schools, because even primary school textbooks incite hate against non-Muslims.”

Mga Kristianong Katoliko Pinili ang Kamatayan kaysa Yurakan si Jesus

Another Massacre of Christians in Egypt

A prayer for the new martyrs of the Palm Sunday massacre in Egypt

Source: Aleteia

O New Martyrs, slain at worship as we enter into our holiest days, you now number among the ancient holy ones. Before the throne of the Almighty, we beg you to keep us particularly in your prayers. Once again we are focused on the mysterious geography where humanity first came into being, and then into contact with the Reality of the One God — the lands where all will someday finally be revealed.

Today, we ponder why it is that our attention is continually turned to this region in gasping sorrow, all due to a malevolent force as old as Eden. We know that Christ Jesus is the Victor over death, and the Victor over evil, but we acknowledge that the victories come only by way of His Cross. O New Martyrs, you and the people of your region share in that Cross and we, in spirit, share it with you. In the presence of the Perfect Wisdom — the Holy, Mighty One who imparts all that is True, teach us to pray the words that will bring peace, if peace is possible, or to pray the words of pure worship, contrition and trust, if it is not.

Pray that we may learn how to become the peace we seek.

Pray that we may put aside all that is irrelevant to the moment and, looking forever to the East, prepare our spirits for the engagements into which we may be called, whether we live amid these places of ancient roads and portals, or in the most modern of dwellings.

Mary, the God-bearer, pray for us,
Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us,
Saint John the Forerunner, pray for us,
Saint Charbel Makhlouf, pray for us,
Saints Mariam Baouardy and Marie-Alphonsine of Palestine, pray for us,
Blessed Charles de Foucauld, pray for us,

All Holy Men and Women, pray for us.
Amen, Amen.

Aleteia: Meet the Only Nun Sentenced to Death by a Nazi Court

Defiant Sister Maria Restituta hung crucifixes on the walls of her hospital, and wouldn't take them down

LARRY PETERSON APRIL 12, 2016

Source: Aleteia

Sister Maria Restituta began Lent of 1942 under arrest. She was taken on Ash Wednesday. Her crime: “hanging crucifixes.” She was sentenced to death. The following year, on Tuesday of Holy Week, she was executed.

May 1, 1894, was a happy day for Anton and Marie Kafka. Marie had just given birth to her sixth child and mom and daughter were both doing fine. The proud parents named their new baby girl Helena. Devout Catholics, Anton and Marie had Helena baptized into the faith only 13 days after her birth.

The ceremony took place in the Church of the Assumption, in the town of Husovice, located in Austria. Before Helena reached her second birthday, the family had settled in the city of Vienna.

Helena was a good student and worked hard. She received her First Holy Communion in St. Brigitta Church during May of 1905 and was confirmed in the same church a year later. After eight years of school she spent another year in housekeeping school and, by the age of 15, was working as a servant, a cook, and being trained as a nurse.

At age 19, she became an assistant nurse at Lainz City Hospital. This was Helena’s first contact with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and she was immediately moved to become a sister herself, and on October 23, 1915, became Sister Maria Restituta. She made her final vows a year later and began working as a nurse.

By the end of World War I, Sister Restituta was the lead surgical nurse at Modling Hospital in Vienna. She had never heard of Adolf Hitler and could never have imagined that one day, because of this man, her beloved nation would be annexed into the German Republic.

On March 12, 1938, the Austrian Nazi Party pulled off a successful coup d’etat taking control of the government. The unforeseen and unimagined had come to pass, and Hitler now controlled the once proud Austrian nation.

Sister Restituta was very outspoken in her opposition to the Nazi regime. When a new wing to the hospital was built she hung a crucifix in each of the new rooms. The Nazis demanded that they be removed. Sister Restituta was told she would be dismissed if she did not comply.

She refused. The crucifixes remained on the walls.

One of the doctors on staff, a fanatical Nazi, would have none of it. He denounced her to the Party and on Ash Wednesday, 1942, she was arrested by the Gestapo as she came out of the operating room. The charges against her included, “hanging crucifixes, and writing a poem that mocked Hitler.”

The Nazis promptly sentenced her to death by the guillotine for “favouring the enemy and conspiracy to commit high treason.” They offered her freedom if she would abandon the Franciscans she loved so much. She adamantly refused. Although many nuns lost their lives in the extermination camps, Sister Restituta would be the only Catholic nun ever charged, tried, and sentenced to death by a Nazi court.

An appeal for clemency went as far as the desk of Hitler’s personal secretary and Nazi Party Chancellor, Martin Bormann. His response was that her execution “would provide effective intimidation for others who might want to resist the Nazis.” Sister Maria Restituta spent her final days in prison caring for the sick. Because of her love for the crucifix — or rather, the One who was died upon it — she was beheaded on March 30, 1943.

The day she died happened to be Tuesday of Holy Week. She was 48 years old.

Pope John Paul II visited Vienna in 1998 and there beatified Helena Kafka, the girl whose destiny was service. She was declared Blessed Maria Restituta. She had learned how to serve others extremely well. But the One she served best of all was her Savior. She gave Him her life.

Blessed Marie Restituta, please pray for us.

Larry Peterson is a Christian author, writer and blogger who has written hundreds of columns on various topics. His books include the novel The Priest and the Peaches and the children’s book Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes. His latest book, The Demons of Abadon, will become available during the spring of 2016. He has three kids and six grandchildren, and they all live within three miles of each other in Florida.

LIFESITENEWS: Polish bishops end Year of Mercy by enthroning Christ as King in presence of president

KRAKOW- ŁAGIEWNIKI, Poland, November 23, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — On November 19, at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy, Poland celebrated a historical Act of Acceptance of Christ as King and Lord with a Mass at the Shrine of Divine Mercy, with the Polish bishops, government authorities, and many faithful in attendance. President Andrzej Duda from the Law and Justice Party took part in the event, thus attracting international media attention.

More than 100,000 Poles in Krakow recited the solemn pledge: “O Immortal King of Ages, Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior! In the Jubilee Year of the 1,050th anniversary of Poland’s baptism, in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, we Poles stand here before you to acknowledge your reign, to submit ourselves to your law, to entrust and consecrate to you our Fatherland and our whole people.”

The ceremony was organized by the Polish Bishops’ Conference, inspired by Pope Francis’ papal bull Misericordiae Vultus. In relation to the closing of the Holy Door of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, the Holy Father wrote, “We will entrust the life of the Church, all humanity, and the entire cosmos to the Lordship of Christ, asking him to pour out his mercy upon us like the morning dew, so that everyone may work together to build a brighter future.”

During the Mass, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow and the president of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate, said, “We invite Jesus into our hearts, families, communities, and surroundings … and to all which constitutes Poland.” The Cardinal added that all persons should not be afraid to proclaim such things.

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The idea for this proclamation came from the Commission for the Movements of Christ’s Enthronement. In an October pastoral letter, the Polish Bishops explained, “There is no need to enthrone Christ in the sense of placing him on the throne and giving him the power or proclaiming him king.” However, “there is an urgent need to enthrone Christ in the hearts of the faithful, by reviving living faith and the life of faith.” Therefore, the Act contains a profession of faith and renunciation of evil.

Bishop Andrzej Czaja, president of the Groups for Enthronement, said that the primary purpose of the Act is “faithful recognition of Jesus, surrendering and entrusting our personal, family, and national lives to Him in all dimensions, and living according to God’s law.” He added, “As such, it should therefore also be an act of justice, in the sense of devoting what is due to God, and at the same time an act of obedience to God in response to His Love.”

Most of the people were not able to enter the Shrine of Divine Mercy and stood outside in the rain. Among them were members of the Right to Life Foundation, who were holding pro-life posters. Many participants interviewed by Polonia Christiana TV mentioned that they wanted Poland to ban abortion, which the ruling party Law and Justice is unwilling to do.

It appears that the Church authorities hinted at that. During the homily, Bishop Czaja said, “There is a need for clear respect for God’s law, so that man’s law does not supercede it.” He clarified that this respect would assure that “what’s morally good and ethical would not be neglected.” Bishop Czaja also talked about giving the first place to Christ in all aspects of life, including professional.

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However, Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin commented that the enthronement had no political meaning and that politicians present accepted Christ as King and Lord only as private citizens.

The Saturday celebration in the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow preceded the feast of the Solemnity of Christ the King in the Catholic liturgical year. Last Sunday, the Act of Acceptance of Christ as King and Lord was recited in all Catholic churches in Poland.

A short video from the celebration can be viewed here:

The full text of the Jubilee Act of Acceptance of Jesus Christ as King and Lord as translated by the Bishops’ Conference:

O Immortal King of Ages, Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior! In the Jubilee Year of the 1050th anniversary of Poland’s Baptism, in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, we Poles stand here before you [together with our authorities, clergy and laity] to acknowledge your reign, to submit ourselves to your law, to entrust and consecrate to you our Fatherland and our whole people.

Canonization of Seven New Saints!

Pope Francis presides over the Holy Mass with canonisation of : Salomon Leclercq, José Sánchez Del Río, Manuel González García, Lodovico Pavoni, Alfonso Maria Fusco, José Gabriel Del Rosario Brochero, Elisabeth Catez.

VISITORS AT ESTONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OFFERED TO KICK VIRGIN MARY'S IMAGE

Wait, until Islam will dominate their decaying democrazy! May God forbids! -CD2000

Source: Interfax-Religion via Pravoslavie.com
Posted October 3, 2016

The National Museum which opened in Estonia in the presence of President Toomas Hendrik Ilves last week, is offering its visitors to kick one of the exhibits, an interactive image of Virgin Mary, causing the picture to fall into pieces.

The virtual painting has been criticized by a number of politicians, entrepreneurs and parliamentarians in the Postimees newspaper. Thus, according to Priit Sibul, who chairs the parliamentary faction of the ruling Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica, "kicking an image of the Mother of God is something they did in the Soviet cultural space but would not demonstrate in public."

Meanwhile, the chairman of the parliamentary opposition Conservative People's Party, Mart Helme, warned against a particularly negative reaction in the Russian-speaking community where religious traditions are especially strong.

"Most Russians living in Estonia are actively religious people and their integration is not helped by religious insult approved on a state level," Helme said.

"The image should be removed as soon as possible because the virtual destruction the authors offer insults the feelings of religious Russian-speaking residents and hinders their integration," the politician was quoted in his party's press release as saying.

According to Helme, who was Estonia's ambassador to Russia in the 1990s, "mocking of the symbols of faith also has a political dimension to it." "An attack on symbols may lead to an escalation of social tensions and a cooling of the inter-state relations," he said.

For his part, Archbishop Urmas Viilma of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church said the image is an affront to the whole Estonian society, all Christians, not just Orthodox ones but Catholics and Lutherans as well. For Estonians, Virgin Mary has a special meaning, no wonder the country is popularly called the Land of Mary, the archbishop said.

The installation on display at the Estonian National Museum is a depiction of Virgin Mary on a big light screen almost the size of a human being. It is static until someone kicks a specially marked spot at the bottom of the picture, causing the virtual figure fly into pieces and the word "Reformation" appear on the screen.

The Estonian National Museum is open in the city of Tartu and set to become the country's most important. It is predicted to attract up to 200,000 visitors per year.

SAINT TERESA OF KOKLATA, NOW WORTHY OF OUR DEVOTION AMONG THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN!

St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata, Pray for us!

10 Things Catholics Are Tired of Hearing

BY ELIZABETH GIDDENS VALVERDE for CATHOLIC365

POSTED IN 2/19/2015

Photo Credit: Flickr/On Being

1.“Catholics worship statues.”

This stereotype is painful to hear. Not only is this completely false, but it is ludicrous. Despite the fact that there are 801 millions Protestants world-wide, according to the Pew Research Center, my rant will be geared towards our brothers and sisters in the United States. In this country, approximately 51.5% of people are Protestant Christians. Realistically, most of these families have pictures in their home, which is completely normal, right? Right. They have pictures of their loved ones, both living and deceased. Is it not hypocritical then to say that Catholics are idol worshipers, when these families have portraits of their loved ones on the walls? If these Protestant families can have pictures of Uncle Bernie and Mawmaw hanging on the wall, then most certainly the Church can present pictures of our beloved Jesus, his disciples, and the saints.

2.“Catholics pray to Mary instead of God.”

This is a very common misconception throughout the Protestant community, and while I can understand why it is, I am also disheartened that many jump to such a harsh conclusion of the Catholic faith. We don’t pray to Mary, we ask her to pray for us, just as a Protestant asks their deceased grandparent/parent to watch over them.

3. “The saints can’t hear your prayers, because they are dead.”

I beg to differ. Since when is anyone who is in Heaven considered dead? We call it the afterLIFE for a reason. In fact, there is biblical proof that the saints can hear our prays:

-Revelation 5:8 “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

-Revelation 8:3-4 “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.”

4. “Mother Mary isn’t important; she’s just like anyone else.”

If our Blessed Mother isn’t important, then every female would have had an immaculate conception. For this reason, that is why the declarative statement above doesn’t make sense. Of course Mother Mary is important, she gave birth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What is so amazing about the Catholic faith is the fact that we recognize the importance of Mary, and we honor her accordingly. She is a role model and saint for all Christians to look up to, because she submitted to God completely. Until the day another woman gives birth to Jesus, no one will ever be just like Mary. She is a very special, holy woman.

5. “Catholics made up all their rules.”

Every single tradition we have in the Catholic Church, namely during Mass, has biblical roots. Not to mention the fact that Jesus was the founder of our Church. I don’t know about you, but Jesus doesn’t make mistakes.

6. “God said to confess sins to Him, not a priest.”

This one is a personal favorite of mine. Drum roll please.

-James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

It is true that we pray directly to God, and ask Him to forgiveness, however for sins (mortal) we do as Jesus commands and confess it to one another (our priests). Jesus said this directly to his disciples, so through Him, they were able to forgive sins. This power passed down to every priest, and so on and so forth. That felt good.

7. “Catholicism is a cult.”

Jesus Christ founded this Church more than 2,000 years ago, I would hardly call it a cult.

8. “Catholics aren’t Christians.”

The word Christian is associated with anyone who follows Christ’s teachings, and since the Catholic Church does just that then we are to be called Christians. Not to mention Catholics were actually the first Christians.

9. “Catholics added books to the Holy Bible.”

This one is so hilarious it hurts. For 300 years there was no Bible, only random writings from the prophets like St.Peter etc, until the Catholic monks compiled and canonized what is now known today as the Holy Bible. (That is until the Protestant Reformation occurred, in which one man *Martin Luther* removed 7 books). Ouch.

10. “Catholics believe you can pay your way into Heaven.”

We definitely do not. That is a huge misconception which occurred during the Protestant Reformation.

Despite the many stereotypes that hang over our faith, the important thing to remember is our Church has stood the test of time and remained for more than 2,000 years. Whether you are Catholic or Protestant-- we are all followers of Christ, and He is the ultimate goal.

“The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it, let it loose, and it will defend itself.”

-St. Augustine of Hippo

IGNACIO DE LAYOLA MOVIE, SHOWING ON JULY 27, 2016!

Cast of Ignacio de Loyola:
Andreas Muñoz - Iñigo de Loyola
Javier Godino - Xanti
Julio Perillán - Father Sanchez
Gonzalo Trujillo - Inquisitor Frias
Isabel García Lorca - Doña Ines Pascual
Lucas Fuica - Don Beltran de Loyola
Mario de la Rosa - Calixto
Jonathan D. Mellor - Inquisitor Figueroa

Ignacio de Loyola is distributed by Jesuit Communications Foundation Philippines thru Solar Pictures.

Read more: http://www.showinginphilippines.com/2016/06/ignacio-de-loyola-showing-starts-july.html#ixzz4Bv0IIkkH

Infographic: What happened to the apostles and where are their remains today?

Immeasurably unfathomable is the LOVE of CHRIST to HIS Universal CHURCH by the SEED OF FAITH planted through His Apostles now ONLY FOUND n the CATHOLIC CHURCH! Splinters of protesting and stubborn churches who left the Catholic Church should start pondering how a LOVING GOD could betray HIS PEOPLE? The Catholic Church is HIS CHURCH—there is NO OTHER! There is BUT ONLY ONE CHURCH HE ESTABLISHED of which all Christians must adhere to it. For the CHURCH is the “pillar and bulwark” of ALL “truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

Think about this. Although ISRAEL, the chosen people, were stubborn, God did not found another Israel. God kept his promise. In the same way, JESUS founded ONE CHURCH. Though may have been stubborn but Christ WILL NEVER FOUND another Church. JESUS KEEPS HIS PROMISE “I will stay with you until the end of the time” (Matthew 28:20). So do not be scandalized when you hear some priests or religious or members of the Church did EVIL. These things have to pass. This only proves that Satan is willing to DESTROY the CHURCH OF CHRIST. But no matter what, JESUS PROMISED “the gates (or power) of hell shall not prevail.” (Matthew 16:16-18).

Be thankful to the Father for you are a CATHOLIC! Be thankful to Jesus, HE FOUNDED HIS Universal CHURCH. Be thankful to the Holy Spirit for HE GUIDES HIS CHURCH for centuries until our LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST COMES!

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus! -CD2000

Photo Source: CatholicLink Info from ChurchPOP

FIVE SAINTS THIS YEAR! FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND HIS CHURCH!

Source: NCRegister
Posted on Tuesday Mar 15th, 2016

From Left: Bl. Mother Teresa; Bl. Jose Sanchez del Rosario; Bl. Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochelo; Bl. Ma. Elisabetta Hesselblad; Bl. Stanislaus of Jesus Mary

VATICAN CITY — After months of anticipation, the date of Mother Teresa’s canonization has finally been announced. It falls on Sept. 4, which this year will also mark a special jubilee for workers and volunteers of mercy.

Though it’s been rumored for months that Mother Teresa’s canonization will take place Sept. 4, the Vatican made the date official during a March 15 consistory of cardinals.

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on Aug. 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia. After joining the Sisters of Loretto at age 17, she was sent to Calcutta, where she later contracted tuberculosis and was sent to rest in Darjeeling.

On the way, she felt what she called “an order” from God to leave the convent and live among the poor.

After she left her convent, Mother Teresa began working in the slums, teaching poor children and treating the sick in their homes. A year later, some of her former students joined her, and, together, they took in men, women and children who were dying in the gutters along the streets.

In 1950, the Missionaries of Charity were born as a congregation of the Diocese of Calcutta. In 1952, the government granted them a house from which to continue their mission of serving Calcutta's poor and forgotten.

She died Sept. 5, 1997, and was beatified just six years later by St. John Paul II on Oct. 19, 2003.

In addition to Mother Teresa, the consistory also decided on the canonization dates of four other blesseds: Maria Elisabetta Hesselblad, Jose Sanchez del Rio, Stanislaus of Jesus Mary and Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero.

The canonization of Jose Sanchez del Rio is also noteworthy. He will be made a saint on Oct. 16, alongside Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero.

José Luis Sánchez del Río was brutally tortured and killed when he was 14 years old during the 1924-1928 religious persecution by Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles. José Luis had enlisted in the ranks of the Cristeros, under the command of Gen. Prudencio Mendoza.

He was martyred by the Federal Army on Feb. 10, 1928. According to the story, the soldiers cut off the soles of his feet and forced him to walk barefoot to his grave. Moments before he was killed, the boy shouted, “Viva Cristo Rey!” or “Long live Christ the King!”

His character was one of the main protagonists in the film For Greater Glory.

Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, frequently referred to as the “gaucho priest,” will be Argentina’s first saint.

Born on March 16, 1840, the priest suffered from leprosy throughout his life and is known for his service to the sick and the dying. He died in 1914 and was beatified by Pope Francis on Sept. 14, 2013.

Sweden will also receive a new saint in Blessed Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad, who will be canonized June 5, alongside Polish Blessed Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczynski.

Born in the small village of Faglavik, in Sweden’s western coast province of Alvsborg, on June 4, 1870, Maria Elisabeth was a nurse and a convert to Catholicism. After her conversion, she went on to found a new order of Bridgettines, called the Most Holy Savior of St. Bridget.

She died in Rome on April 24, 1957, and was beatified April 9, 2000, by St. John Paul II.

Blessed Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczynski is a Polish priest born in 1631 and beatified by Benedict XVI in 2007.

Often referred to as the “Father Founder,” Stanislaus is known for his writings and constant encouragement to contemplate God’s mercy and to turn to Mary Immaculate for guidance and protection.

In addition to founding the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, the priest also experienced visions of Holy Souls in Purgatory and urged penance and prayers on their behalf.

Mexican Boy Murdered for His Catholic Beliefs to Become a Saint

Praise the Lord! Another soon-to-be Saint! VIVA CRISTO REY! -CD2000

Source: TeleSUR
Published 15 March 2016
By sh-OA-mk

Jose Sanchez del Rio will be canonized in October this year. | Photo: Cortesía Aciprensa

Jose Sanchez del Rio was tortured and killed by the Mexican government forces for his catholic beliefs.

Pope Francis ruled on Tuesday that Jose Sanchez del Rio, the Mexican boy who was tortured and killed aged 14 in 1928, will be canonized on Oct. 16, this year.

The boy was captured by government forces after he enlisted in the ranks of the Cristeros, who were devout Catholics and struggled against the secularist, anti-Catholic, and anticlerical policies of Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles during the 1924-1928 religious persecution.

According to the fable, Sanchez had the souls of his feet cut off and was forced to walk barefoot to his grave before he was killed. Moments before he was murdered he supposedly shouted “Viva Cristo Rey!” or “Long live Christ the King!”

His character was one of the main protagonists in the 2013 film “For Greater Glory.”

Sanchez was declared a martyr in June 2004 by Pope John Paul II and was beatified (blessed) by Pope Benedict XVI in late 2005 in Mexico.

Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to him in January this year which paved the way for his sainthood.

The pope also announced that Mother Teresa and Argentine priest Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, frequently referred to as the “gaucho priest,” will also become saints in September and October in 2016.

Catholic Herald: Mother Teresa to be canonised on September 4

Source: Catholic Herald
by Staff Reporter
posted Tuesday, 15 Mar 2016

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta pictured in 1993 (AP)

The canonisation Mass will conclude the Vatican Jubilee for 'workers and volunteers of mercy'

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be canonised on September 4, the Vatican has announced.

The canonisation Mass at which Mother Teresa will be declared a saint will conclude the Vatican Jubilee for “workers and volunteers of mercy”, according to Catholic News Service.

The canonisation, which was approved at a consistory at the Vatican today, comes the day before the 19th anniversary of Blessed Teresa’s death, September 5, 1997.

On December 17, Pope Francis approved a second miracle attributed to Blessed Teresa’s intercession. That miracle involved the healing of a now 42-year-old mechanical engineer in Santos, Brazil, who was in a coma after being diagnosed with a viral brain infection that resulted in multiple brain abscesses

The Vatican has also announced that Blessed Stanislaus Papczynski and Blessed Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad will be canonised on June 5.

Argentine priest Blessed Gabriel del Rosario Brochero and Mexico’s Blessed Sanchez del Rio to be canonised on October 16.

Pope advances sainthood causes of Lutheran convert, U.S. missionary in Vietnam -Catholic Courier

By Junno Arocho Esteves (Catholic Courier)
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of a Lutheran convert who established a branch of the Bridgettine order in her country and a U.S. missionary who died while ministering to the wounded in Vietnam.

During a Dec. 14 meeting with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the pope signed a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad, who refounded the Order of the Most Holy Savior of St. Bridget, better known as the Bridgettines.

Born in Sweden in 1870 and baptized into the Reform Church, she immigrated to the United States in 1886 to earn money for her family back home.

After working as a nurse, she converted to Catholicism in 1902. Moving to Rome, she dedicated her life and her religious order to prayer and work for the attainment of Christian unity. St. John Paul II beatified her in Rome in 2000.

The pope also signed decrees recognizing the miracles needed for the beatifications of:

-- Father Ladislao Bukowinski, a Ukrainian priest who died in Kazakhstan in 1974.

-- Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa, an Italian nun who founded the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer in the 18th century.

-- Sister Mary of Jesus Santocanale, an Italian nun born in 1852, who founded the Congregation of the Capuchin Sisters of the Immaculate of Lourdes.

-- Itala Mela, an Italian laywoman and Benedictine Oblate who died in 1957.

The pope also recognized the heroic virtues of four women and eight men, including New Hampshire native Brother William Gagnon -- a member of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God. Brother Gagnon tended to the sick and wounded during the Vietnam War, before falling ill and dying in Ho Chi Minh City in 1972.

The pope also recognized the heroic virtues of Teresio Olivelli, an Italian layman who spoke out against fascism and Nazism before being arrested and imprisoned. Olivelli died trying to protect a fellow prisoner in a German concentration camp in 1945.

Mother Teresa to be made a saint by Catholic Church

Source: Inforum
By Reuters Media

Catholic nuns from the order of the Missionaries of Charity gather under a picture of Mother Teresa during the tenth anniversary of her death in Kolkata, India, in this September 5, 2007 file photo. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw/Files

VATICAN CITY - Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Nobel peace laureate who dedicated her life to helping the poorest, is to be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican said on Friday.

Pope Francis has cleared the way for sainthood by approving a decree recognizing a second miracle attributed to her intercession with God, a requirement of sainthood.

The nun, who died in 1997 at the age of 87, became an international icon but has also been criticized for trying to convert people to Christianity.

The late Pope John Paul II bent Vatican rules to allow the procedure to establish her case for sainthood to be launched two years after her death instead of the usual five. She was beatified in 2003, a mere six years after her death.

Beatification requires one miracle and is the last step before sainthood, which requires a second.

The church defines saints as those believed to have been holy enough during their lives to now be in Heaven with God.

Francis, who has made concern for the poor a major plank of his papacy, was keen to make Mother Teresa a saint during the church's current Holy Year.

Church officials say Mother Teresa's second miracle involved the healing of a Brazilian man suffering from a viral brain infection that resulted in multiple abscesses with hydrocephalus.

Relatives prayed to Mother Teresa and he recovered, leaving his doctors mystified, they said. A Vatican medical commission deemed the sudden recovery "inexplicable in the light of present-day medical knowledge," according to Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, the chief promoter of the sainthood cause.

"CHRISTMAS GIFT"

In Kolkata, as Calcutta is now called, Sunita Kumar, spokeswoman for the Missionaries of Charity religious order which Mother Teresa founded, said the nuns were "over the moon" at the news.

"We thought her whole life was a miracle. Her whole life was dedicated to the poor and there was nothing else in her mind than service. Everyone was accepted and there was no obstruction in her work," she told Reuters.

Archbishop Thomas D'Souza of Kolkata told Reuters the news from Rome was "the best Christmas gift," adding: "Her entire life and work was for the poor. Now it is in a way officially recognized. We are grateful to God."

In the years since her death, some have accused Mother Teresa and the order of having ulterior motives in helping the destitute, saying their aim was to convert them to Christianity.

The order rejects that, saying, for example, that most of those helped in the Kalighat Home for Dying Destitutes in Kolkata were non-Christians with just a few days left to live and noting that conversion is a lengthy process.

The order has also denied allegations of financial mismanagement of the huge sums it received from donors.

Known as the "saint of the gutters," the diminutive nun is expected to be canonized - formally made a saint - in early September. It is not clear if the ceremony will take place in Rome or if the pope will travel to India to preside.

It would be the first trip by a pope to India since 1999.

Mother Teresa was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu of Albanian parents in Macedonia in 1910 in what was then part of the Ottoman Empire.

She founded the Missionaries of Charity with about a dozen nuns in the 1950s to help the poor on the streets of Calcutta and the religious order spread throughout the world. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Holy confessors and martyrs of Iraq, pray for us!

From: Hermeneutic of Continuity

Simon Caldwell recently published an inspiring account of elderly Iraqi Christians in the village of Karamless. (See: Elderly Iraqi Christians defy terrorists, flee to camp H/T Transalpine Redemptorists) When the IS terrorists overran Karamless, on the night of 6-7 August, everyone fled except the elderly who were too weak to run.

The masked terrorists demanded that they convert or be killed by the sword. All of the elderly people said "we prefer to be killed rather than convert." In the event they were ordered to leave the village with only the clothes they were wearing.

This moving and inspiring story of courageous witness to Christ is redolent of the days of ancient Rome. Those who refused to deny their faith yet were not actually martyred yet were called "confessors" because of their stout confession of the faith. Penitents could go to them and ask for a note to say that the confessors had prayed for them; this note or "libellus pacis" could then be taken to the Bishop who could choose to remit all or part of a canonical penance, in view of the power of the prayers of the holy confessors.

There are also many in recent times who have actually been martyred in Iraq because they chose death rather than agree to renounce Christ. They are martyrs because without doubt they were killed propter odium fidei, "on account of hatred of the faith." I hope that a list is kept of their names, along with at least some evidence from witnesses, so that the sacrifice they have made is given due recognition in the life of the Church by their eventual canonisation, and so that people down the ages can remember their heroism and invoke their prayers.

Holy Martyrs and Confessors of Iraq, pray for us.