Patriarch Fouad Twal has invited the president of Palestine to attend the Canonization Mass of Blessed Mary Alphonsine Ghattas and Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Baouardy this May 17.
According to abouna.org, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem extended the invitation to President Mahmoud Abbas to the Mass for the two Palestinian and one French sisters during the Patriarch’s visit to the presidential headquarters in Ramallah yesterday.
While saying preparations are underway, His Beatitude stressed this Canonization is a historic and qualitative event at the religious, ecclesiastical and national levels.
In response to the invitation, the Palestinian President thanked Patriarch Twal and recognized the sanctity of the Holy Land and the role the Local Church plays in helping society, especially in healthcare and education.
President Abbas also praised the Church’s “maintaining the social fabric, spreading the message of love, and working for justice and peace.”
Turning to the two nuns, Mariam Bawardi was born in the village of Ibillin, Galilee, in 1846. She is the founder of the Carmel of Bethlehem. During her life, she received the stigmata. The mystic, who had many dreams in which she received communications from Jesus, passed away in 1878.
The other Palestinian sister who will be a canonized saint is Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas. She was born in 1843 in Jerusalem and died in 1927. She co-founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Rosary dedicated to pastoral work and, later, to help the elderly, children, and poor.
