VATICAN CITY, NOV. 9, 2003 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II beatified five19th century Europeans Sunday as models for a society that turns everything into «merchandise.»
The new blesseds challenge «present-day society, tempted at times to turn everything into merchandise and profit, neglecting values and dignity which have no price,» the Pope said.
The pontiff looked better than he has in recent weeks. He knelt during the consecration, reading in a clear, strong voice at the homily’s beginning and end. The blesseds include the following:
Juan Nepomuceno Zegri y Moreno (1831-1905), one time chaplain to the Spanish royal court and founder of the Congregation of Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy;
Father Valentin Paquay (1828-1905), a Belgian priest with the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor who became known abroad for his gifts as Spiritual Director at Belgium’s Hasselt friary;
Father Luigi Maria Monti (1825-1900), Italian founder of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception who administer prestigious hospitals and perform social work;
Mother Bonifacia Rodriguez Castro (1837-1905), Spanish foundress of the Congregation of Handmaids of St. Joseph, who tend to the spiritual and social needs of working women;
Rosalie Rendu (1786-1856) French religious of the Society of Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent of Paul who, after the French Revolution, carried out an extraordinary works of charity on the outskirts of Paris.
John Paul II has proclaimed 1,324 blesseds and canonized 476 saints to date.
