CANONIZATION OF BLESSED PEDRO DE SAN JOSE BETANCUR

VATICAN CITY, JUL 30, 2002 (VIS) - John Paul II presided this morning at 9 a.m. local time (5 p.m. Rome time) in the South Hippodrome at the Eucharistic celebration during which he canonized Brother Pedro de San Jose Betancur. Cardinals, bishops and priests from Tenerife, Guatemala and other Central American countries concelebrated with the Holy Father in memory of the old kingdom of Guatemala which during the life of the new saint used to include all the states in Central America. More than 700,000 people attended the ceremony.

The Holy Father began his homily by affirming: "As I inscribe Brother Pedro de Betancur in the catalogue of saints, I do it convinced of the current value of his message. The new saint, with the unique equipment of his faith and his trust in God, crossed the Atlantic to attend to the poor and indigenous of America: ... Cuba ... Honduras ... Guatemala."

Afterward, the Pope greeted participants in the canonization, from Archbishop Rodolfo Quezada Toruno of Guatemala City to political, civil and religious representatives and he added: "I also wish to express my appreciation and closeness to the many indigenous people. The Pope does not forget you and, admiring the values of your cultures, he encourages you to overcome with hope the sometimes difficult situations you experience ... You deserve respect and have the right to realize yourselves fully in justice, integral development and peace."

John Paul II underlined that the new saint "was a man of deep prayer. For this reason, he is an example for all Christians of today whom he reminds that to be a saint 'a christianity that distinguishes itself above all in the art of prayer is necessary.'"

Subsequently, referring to the psalm prayed in the Mass in which it is affirmed that divine justice exists throughout the ages, he exclaimed: "Justice that endures is that which is practiced with humility, sharing cordially good fortune with your brothers, spreading the spirit of forgiveness and mercy everywhere."

"Pedro de Betancur," he explained, "stood out precisely because he practiced mercy with a humble spirit and an austere life. ... He was truly brother to everyone who lives in misfortune and he devoted himself to his salvation with affection and intense love."

"The new saint is also an urgent call today to practice mercy in modern society, above all when there are so many who are waiting for a hand outstretched to help them. Let us think about children and young people without a home or an education; abandoned women with many needs to meet; the multitude of outcasts in the cities; the victims of organized crime, prostitution or drugs; the sick who are unattended or the elderly who live alone."
At the end of the Mass, the mayor of Guatemala City and two representatives of the city gave the Pope the keys to Old Guatemala, the place where St. Pedro de San Jose Betancur lived and died.

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