Pope Francis canonises two Palestinian nuns

Pope Francis has canonised two Palestinian nuns from the 19th century, the first Arabic-speaking saints in the Catholic Church, and the first from the Middle East since the early days of Christianity. 

On Sunday, the pontiff led a ceremony, attended by about 2,000 pilgrims, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, at the Vatican to mark the sainthood of Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas, as well as Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve from France and Maria Cristina from Italy.

Church officials are holding up the new Palestinian saints as a symbol of support and encouragement of Christians who are facing persecution across the Middle East, a fact that Francis has repeatedly cited as a cause of grave concern.

“Their luminous example challenges us in our lives as Christians,” he said during the ceremony on Sunday, as 2,000 pilgrims looked on, many of them waving Palestinian flags.

Ghattas was born in Jerusalem and co-founded the Sisters of the Rosary, an order that still has centres across the Middle East and operates services for children and the elderly. Baouardy founded a Carmelite monastery in Bethlehem and is said to have received stigmata –marks or bleeding that resemble the wounds suffered by Christ on the cross.

The canonisation ceremony took place just days after the Vatican announced its intention to sign its first treaty with Palestine. It was not the first time the Vatican or Pope Francis recognised Palestine as a state – the church has been using that language in official documents since November 2012.

In his 20-minute meeting with Abbas on Saturday – which the Vatican described as “cordial” – the pope repeated his wish for direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine to be resumed and emphasised the importance of inter-religious dialogue.

"To this end, the wish was reiterated that with the support of the international community, Israelis and Palestinians may take with determination courageous decisions to promote peace," a Vatican statement said.

Israel earlier had expressed its "disappointment" that the Vatican officially recognised the State of Palestine in the treaty, which covers the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory.