Bishop Faddoul: New Maronite Saints are ‘role models for all laymen’
Vatican news
As Pope Francis canonizes 14 new saints, including the 11 martyrs of Damascus, Bishop Simon Faddoul congratulates the three lay Maronites among them for having testified to their fidelity to Christ.
By Devin Watkins
“I think we are witnessing a marriage of holiness.”
Mgr Simon Faddoul took stock of the canonization which took place on Sunday during mass in Saint-Pierre Square.
Speaking to Nour El Khoury in the Vatican News studios, the bishop of the Maronite Catholics of West and Central Africa recalled that blood brothers Francis, Mooti and Raphaël Massabki were martyred alongside eight Franciscan friars in 1860 and were canonized with them on Sunday.
Known as the 11 Martyrs of Damascus, they were murdered in hatred of the faith at St. Paul’s Monastery during the persecution of Christians by Ottoman Muslims, which extended to Lebanon and Syria.
Archbishop Faddoul said the three Maronite lay people constitute models for all lay people, showing how “courage and perseverance in faith can bear fruit in the Church.”
He also recalled the situation that many people in the Middle East are currently facing.
“Especially in these difficult times, this event reminds us to root our people more and more in their land,” he said. “As we look back, we remember that many of our ancestors gave their lives for their faith. »
The bishop said these many Maronite martyrs testify to the importance of persevering in their homeland in the Middle East, saying the land was “watered by the sweat and blood of our ancestors.”
Mgr Simon Faddoul with Nour El Khoury in the Vatican News studios
Constant communion with Rome
Bishop Faddoul recalled that the Maronite Church began around 430-400 after the death of Saint Maron, but that it was already officially recognized as a participant in the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
“Since then, the Maronites have been loyal to Rome and the Holy See,” he said. “I believe that the canonization of the martyrs brings the Maronite Church closer to the universal Church.”
As an Eastern rite of the Catholic Church, the Maronite Church has its own unique role to play in the body of Christ, Archbishop Faddoul said.
He noted that the canonization of Francis, Mooti and Raphael Massabki offers the opportunity to highlight this unity.
“The relationship between the Maronite Church and the Universal Church strengthens even more with each canonization that takes place, fostering a deeper feeling of identification and unity. »
Mgr Faddoul
Vatican news
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