BEATIFICATION OF THREE PRIESTS IN ITALY AND INDIA

VATICAN CITY, APR 30, 2006 (VIS) - This morning Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, archbishop of Milan, presided over the beatification ceremony of two priests in the city's cathedral square. The newly beatified priests are Luigi Monza and Luigi Biraghi. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, read the formula for beatification on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI.

  During the mass Cardinal Tettamanzi related that this was the first time in the history of the Ambrosian Church that a beatification ceremony was celebrated in the city of Milan.

  Fr. Monza (1898-1954) was imprisoned during the Fascist regime. In 1937 he founded the Secular Institute of the Little Apostles of Charity, a community of consecrated sisters who seek to instill in society, via their profession and apostolic service, the same charity of the early Christians. Their service to the community is carried out principally through a foundation called "Our Family", dedicated to physically handicapped children in various countries around the world.

  Monsignor Biraghi (1801-1879) was spiritual director of the Major Seminary of Milan. He focused intensely on acts of charity and providing support to various mission countries. In 1838 he founded the Sisters of Saint Marcellina, dedicated to the task of educating youth in Christianity and also to missionary activities in many countries.

  For his part, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, presided Sunday over the beatification ceremony of Fr. Augustine Thevarparampil (1891-1973), in Ramapuram, India. In this city, the "Kunjachan", or (little priest) as he was popularly known, was born. The majority of his priestly ministry took place in his own parish, the church of Saint Augustine in Ramapuram. He was one of three assistant priests of this church over the course of four decades. He baptized more than five thousand "dalits" or untouchables, the lowest among the low in the caste system in India, whom he always referred to as "my children".
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