By Mukama Philip Kahigiriza
RELIGION
On October 20, 2024, Pope Francis canonized Saint Joseph Allamano, founder of the Consolata Missionaries, as one of 14 new saints in Vatican Square. This historic event drew thousands of pilgrims worldwide, including 1,300 representatives of the Consolata Missionaries.
Born in 1851, Saint Joseph Allamano was an Italian diocesan priest devoted to spreading the Gospel. Though he never left Italy, he founded the Consolata Missionaries in 1901 and the Consolata Missionary Sisters in 1910, sending missionaries to remote corners of Africa, Asia, and South America. Today, the Consolata Missionaries serve in 40 countries, inspired by Allamano’s unwavering faith and devotion.
Pope Francis praised the new saints, saying, “These new saints lived Jesus’ way of service. They made themselves servants of their brothers and sisters, creative in doing good, steadfast in difficulties, and generous to the end.”
Saint Joseph Allamano’s reliance on the missionaries he formed reflected his trust in God’s plan. Sr. Joan Agnes Matimu of the Consolata Missionary Sisters noted, “The mission is not ours. The mission is of the Holy Spirit.” Allamano’s words to his missionaries embodied this spirit: “You must not only be holy, but extraordinarily holy.”
St. Joseph Allamano was canonized alongside 13 others, including Elena Guerra and Marie-Léonie Paradis, who exemplified heroic virtue within their unique vocations. This group includes two married men, a father of eight and a father of five and three founders of religious orders whose spiritual legacies continue worldwide.
Mother Elena Guerra (1835–1914)
Known as an “apostle of the Holy Spirit,” Blessed Elena Guerra convinced Pope Leo XIII to exhort all Catholics to pray a novena to the Holy Spirit leading up to Pentecost in 1895. Guerra founded the Oblates of the Holy Spirit, a congregation of religious sisters that continues today in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. A friend of Pope Leo XIII and teacher of St. Gemma Galgani, Guerra is remembered for her spiritual writings and passionate devotion to the Holy Spirit.
Mother Marie-Léonie Paradis (1840–1912)
Canadian sister Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis founded the Little Sisters of the Holy Family. Born in Quebec, Paradis established her institute in 1880 in New Brunswick. Her order supports priests through intense prayer and taking care of cooking and laundry in seminaries and rectories. Today, her sisters work in over 200 institutions worldwide.
Martyrs of Damascus, Syria (m. 1860)
The Church also gained 11 new martyrs who refused to renounce their Christian faith and convert to Islam. These martyrs were killed in the Franciscan Church of St. Paul in Damascus on July 10, 1860.
Eight of the martyrs were Franciscan friars, and three were laymen from the Maronite Catholic family. The martyrdom took place during the persecution of Christians by Muslims and Shia Druze in Lebanon and Syria in 1860.
