Pope Francis canonized four women - one French nun, one Italian nun and two Palestinian nuns - during the Sunday mass at the Vatican.
The canonization of the Palestinian nuns, however, was "not directly connected with the Vatican's Wednesday announcement of a new accord with the State of Palestine," according to Reuters, despite having President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, a Muslim, among the pope's distinguished guests, along with 2,000 other pilgrims.
Entered into sainthood were Palestinian nuns Sister Mariam Bawardy, the founder of Carmelite in Bethlehem, and Sister Marie Alphonsine Ghattas, the founder of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem, as well as Sister Jeanne-Emilie de Villeneuve from France and Sister Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando from Italy.
During the mass, the basilica was adorned with photos of the four, but the event also had an historical significance. The canonization of sisters Mariam and Maria Alphonsine make them the first Arabic-speaking saints. The two nuns, who were religious leaders in their teens in the 1800s, were hailed by the pope as shining examples to Christians, Jews and Muslims.
"To abide in God and in his love, and thus to proclaim by our words and our lives the resurrection of Jesus, to live in unity with one another and with charity towards all - this is what the four women Saints canonized today did. Their luminous example challenges us in our lives as Christians," said the pope in his homily, according to the Vatican Network.
To be eligible for sainthood, the Roman Catholic Church has to determine that miracles took place through the intercession of the holy and the dead, such as the nuns. One of the witnesses, Emile Munir Elias, who believed she was healed of her sickness through Sister Marie Alphonsine's intercession, was at the Sunday mass, according to Reuters.
The Palestinian government regards the canonization as an affirmation of its "narrative, history and identity," said senior government official Hanan Ashrawi, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"We've been here for centuries, and Christianity is part and parcel of our identity. We are the oldest Christians in the world," Ashrawi added.
