Pope Francis hailed the beatification of Father Emilio Moscoso (1846-1895), martyred priest of the Society of Jesus, which took place on November 16, 2019, in Riobamba, Ecuador.
He spoke of this event in the Angelus he celebrated the following: «May his example of humble religious, apostle of prayer and youth educator, support our journey of faith and Christian witness.»
The pope then asked the crowd, which was sheltering from bad weather under a forest of umbrellas in St. Peter’s Square, to applaud the new blessed.
Father Moscoso was «a generous, gentle apostle … ready for sacrifice» and animated by a «burning desire to conform to Jesus, even without his death,» Cardinal Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, said. in his homily for beatification.
At a time of persecution, when the government decided «the closing of small seminaries, restrictions on education, controls on parishes, the expropriation of convents», the Jesuit drew «in an intense prayer, in the tireless dedication to the priestly ministry and in service to the neighbor «, the acceptance of martyrdom.
In fact, concluded Cardinal Becciu, «martyrdom is the fruit of a faith rooted in God and lived day by day, which demands coherence, courage and the intense capacity to love God and the neighbor with the gift of oneself. «
