Pope praises virtues of women as he beatifies nun

POPE JOHN PAUL II hailed women for their “sensitivity, generosity and strength” yesterday as he beatified a Croatian nun who devoted her life to poor children.

The 83-year-old Pope, making his landmark 100th foreign pilgrimage, praised the virtues of women everywhere in his Mass in Dubrovnik, an ancient coastal resort devastated by Serb shelling during Croatia’s 1991 war for independence from Yugoslavia.

Addressing thousands of cheering pilgrims at the city’s scenic port, John Paul beatified Marija Petkovic, who died in Rome in 1966 after founding a religious community that cared for impoverished children in Croatia and Latin America. Beatification is the last step before possible sainthood.