2024-02-11 20:11:15
Pope Francis canonized the first female saint from his native Argentina today, while Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Millay, was sitting in the front row of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Associated Press reported.
The canonization liturgy for Mama Antula was the first meeting between the Argentine pope and Millay, who once called Francis an “idiot” for championing social justice. The Argentine president, who crossed himself at the beginning of the ceremony, sat to the right of Pope Francis, to the side of the main altar.
Mama Antula was an 18th century laywoman who served the poor and helped sustain the Jesuit religious community in Argentina after the religious order to which the Pope belonged was suppressed.
During an audience Friday with Argentine pilgrims who had arrived in the city for the ceremony, Pope Francis held up Mama Antula as an example of mercy at a time when, he said, “radical individualism” has infected today’s society.
Millais will meet privately with Pope Francis tomorrow before holding private talks with Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella.
During his election campaign, Millay described Pope Francis as an “idiot” and a “representative of evil on Earth.”
The Pope spoke at length with Millay, who was elected in December, and indicated that he forgave him for his pre-election rhetoric. The Holy Father said he is considering visiting Argentina later this year, which would be his first trip to his homeland since being elected in 2013, BTA said, citing AP.