Pope Francis canonises two Palestinian nuns at Vatican

Pope Francis named two Palestinian women as saints yesterday, in a ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square days after the Vatican formalised its de facto recognition of the State of Palestine.

The canonisation of Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem founder, and Maryam Baouardy, who founded a Carmelite convent in Bethlehem, was not directly connected with the Vatican’s Wednesday announcement of a new accord with the State of Palestine.

However, the ceremony, attended by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and a delegation of senior clergy including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, highlighted Pope Francis’s drive to help Christian communities in the Middle East.