Saints

Last night, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI announced the canonization of 6 new saints for the Catholic Church. They are as follows:

• Blessed Mary MacKillop of Australia, a nun who pioneered education in Australia and founded the country's first religious order. She was known for her attitude, and was once excommunicated for four months during a spat with Rome.
  
• Blessed Andre Bessette of Canada, a monk from Quebec who was known for his healing abilities and who founded St. Joseph's oratory in Montreal.
• Blessed Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola of Spain, the founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus
• Blessed Giulia Salzano Heart of Italy, founder of the Sister Catechists of the Sacred
• Blessed Battista da Varano of Italy, a Poor Clare nun
  
• Blessed Stanislao Soltys of Poland, a....well, a Polish monk.

They will be canonized on October 17. This is a notable consistory, as it gives Australia and the province of Quebec their first saints. We pray for their blessing.

In addition, there are our own saints who must be recognized. Father Donald Duffy, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago for 67 years and the pastor of St. Mary Parish for 19 years, passed away yesterday. I only met him once, at his 60th anniversary of priesthood, but I owe him so much. What he did in life for my parish and its school had direct impacts on my life. Per the Archdiocesan obituary, while at St. Mary's "Fr. Duffy put great emphasis on the school and the total formation of the students." God bless you, Father Duffy; I pray that St. Mary thanks you for a job well done.