VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 008   
   DATE 14-01-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Francis canonises Joseph Vaz, Sri Lanka's first saint   
   - At the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu: Mary accompanies Tamils and Sinhalese in   
   rebuilding their lost unity   
   - Pope Francis' telegram to the President of the Italian Republic   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis canonises Joseph Vaz, Sri Lanka's first saint   
    Vatican City, 14 January 2014 (VIS) - On the morning of Wednesday 14 January,   
   the Holy Father transferred from the apostolic nunciature in Colombo to Galle   
   Face Green. This urban park in the heart of the financial district of Colombo   
   spreads over five hectares up to the coast of the Indian Ocean and can hold up   
   to half a million people. Twenty years ago, on 15 January 1995, St. John Paul   
   II celebrated Holy Mass in the same location and proclaimed Joseph Vaz   
   blessed. Francis then left the car in favour of the Popemobile to tour the   
   many faithful - more than half a million - gathered in the park. Before   
   entering the sacristy, the Pope was greeted by the mayor of the city of   
   Colombo, who presented him with the keys to the city.   
    The Mass and canonisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz began at 8.30 a.m. local   
   time. Sri Lanka's first saint, Vaz was born in Goa, India in 1651, the son of   
   Cristovao Vaz and Maria de Miranda, devout Catholics. His father belonged to a   
   prominent Goud Saraswat Brahmin Naik family from Sancoale, and Joseph was   
   baptised on the eighth day at the parish church of St. John the Baptist. He   
   studied Portuguese and Latin, and entered the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.   
   Since Ceylon, present day Sri Lanka, was under the rule of Dutch Calvinists   
   and therefore had no Catholic priests, he moved there secretly, in the guise   
   of a mendicant. He eventually came to the attention of the Dutch authorities,   
   who imprisoned him. He was released in 1869 and obtained permission to preach   
   the Gospel throughout the Buddhist Kingdom of Kandy. He also continued to do   
   so secretly in the area under Dutch occupation until his death in 1711.   
    Blessed Vaz, said the Holy Father in his homily, "like countless other   
   missionaries in the history of the Church ... responded to the Risen Lord's   
   command to make disciples of every nation. By his words, but more importantly,   
   by the example of his life, he led the people of this country to the faith   
   which gives us 'an inheritance among all God's holy ones'. In Saint Joseph we   
   see a powerful sign of God's goodness and love for the people of Sri Lanka.   
   But we also see in him a challenge to persevere in the paths of the Gospel, to   
   grow in holiness ourselves, and to testify to the Gospel message of   
   reconciliation to which he dedicated his life".   
    "Saint Joseph Vaz continues to be an example and a teacher for many reasons,   
   but I would like to focus on three", he continued. "First, he was an exemplary   
   priest. Here today with us are many priests and religious, both men and women,   
   who, like Joseph Vaz, are consecrated to the service of God and neighbour. I   
   encourage each of you to look to Saint Joseph as a sure guide. He teaches us   
   how to go out to the peripheries, to make Jesus Christ everywhere known and   
   loved. He is also an example of patient suffering in the cause of the Gospel,   
   of obedience to our superiors, of loving care for the Church of God. Like   
   ourselves, Saint Joseph Vaz lived in a period of rapid and profound   
   transformation; Catholics were a minority, and often divided within; there was   
   occasional hostility, even persecution, from without. And yet, because he was   
   constantly united with the crucified Lord in prayer, he could become for all   
   people a living icon of God's mercy and reconciling love".   
    The new saint, explained Pope Francis, "shows us the importance of   
   transcending religious divisions in the service of peace. His undivided love   
   for God opened him to love for his neighbour; he ministered to those in need,   
   whoever and wherever they were. His example continues to inspire the Church in   
   Sri Lanka today. She gladly and generously serves all members of society. She   
   makes no distinction of race, creed, tribe, status or religion in the service   
   she provides through her schools, hospitals, clinics, and many other   
   charitable works. All she asks in return is the freedom to carry out this   
   mission. Religious freedom is a fundamental human right. Each individual must   
   be free, alone or in association with others, to seek the truth, and to openly   
   express his or her religious convictions, free from intimidation and external   
   compulsion. As the life of Saint Joseph Vaz teaches us, genuine worship of God   
   bears fruit not in discrimination, hatred and violence, but in respect for the   
   sacredness of life, respect for the dignity and freedom of others, and loving   
   commitment to the welfare of all".   
    Finally, "Saint Joseph gives us an example of missionary zeal. Though he came   
   to Ceylon to minister to the Catholic community, in his evangelical charity he   
   reached out to everyone. Leaving behind his home, his family, the comfort of   
   his familiar surroundings, he responded to the call to go forth, to speak of   
   Christ wherever he was led. Saint Joseph knew how to offer the truth and the   
   beauty of the Gospel in a multi-religious context, with respect, dedication,   
   perseverance and humility. This is also the way for the followers of Jesus   
   today. We are called to go forth with the same zeal, the same courage, as   
   Saint Joseph, but also with his sensitivity, his reverence for others, his   
   desire to share with them that word of grace which has the power to build them   
   up. We are called to be missionary disciples".   
    "Dear brothers and sisters", he concluded, "I pray that, following the   
   example of Saint Joseph Vaz, the Christians of this country may be confirmed   
   in faith and make an ever greater contribution to peace, justice and   
   reconciliation in Sri Lankan society. This is what Christ asks of you. This is   
   what Saint Joseph teaches you. This is what the Church needs of you. I commend   
   all of you to the intercession of our new saint, so that, in union with the   
   Church throughout the world, you may sing a new song to the Lord and declare   
   his glory to all the ends of the earth. For great is the Lord, and greatly to   
   be praised. Amen".   
    At the end of the celebration, Pope Francis presented to Cardinal Albert   
   Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, archbishop of Colombo, a reproduction of the   
   "Sannas", a reproduction engraved on copper of the document by which in 1694   
   King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe of Kandy authorised Fr. Juan Sylveira of the Order   
   of St. Philip Neri and his companions to preach the Gospel and build churches   
   in his kingdom, and the people to convert to Christianity should they wish to   
   do so. The original decree was given to Pope Leo XIII by the then-archbishop   
   of Colombo, Christopher Bonjero O.M.I. The faithful of Sri Lanka reciprocated   
   by donating 70,000 dollars to Pope Francis for papal charity.   
    returned to the apostolic nunciature of Colombo to lunch and to rest, then   
   shortly after 2 p.m. he left for the heliport, in order to depart by   
   helicopter for Madhu.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    At the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu: Mary accompanies Tamils and Sinhalese in   
   rebuilding their lost unity   
    Vatican City, 14 January 2014 (VIS) - This Wednesday the Holy Father made the   
   250-kilometre journey by helicopter from Colombo to the Shrine of Our Lady of   
   Madhu, the second stage of his trip in Sri Lanka. The shrine is located in the   
   north of the Island inhabited predominantly by the Tamil people, and has a   
   four-century-long history. In 1544 some Christians escaped from the massacres   
   ordered by the King of Jaffna, who feared the expansion of Portuguese   
   influence, and sought refuge in the jungle, where they built a rudimentary   
   place for prayer with the statue that is now located inside the shrine. In   
   1583 some Christians, again fleeing from Mannar, began to build churches in   
   nearby areas. One of these, in Mantai, subsequently became the first "home" of   
   the statue of Our Lady of Madhu. Following the persecution of Catholics by the   
   Dutch, who arrived in Ceylon in 1656, thirty Catholic families seeking refuge   
   journeyed from village to village, taking the statue with them. In 1670 they   
   settled in Maruthamadhu, where the shrine is now located. They were later   
   joined by other Catholics of Portuguese origin, who built the first small   
   church dedicated to Our Lady of Madhu.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)