This story originally appeared on The Media Line.
Two Palestinian women who lived in Bethlehem almost a century and a half ago have been honored with the highest accolade that the Catholic Church can bestow. Mariam Bawardy and Mary-Alphonsine Ghattas will be canonized as saints, it was announced at a press conference in Jerusalem by local representatives of the Church.
“We have only three (candidates for canonization) from the modern period whose language was not Greek, nor Latin, nor Aramaic, but Arabic,” said Bishop William Shomali, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem who emphasized the nuns’ local connection.
Mariam Bawardy was born in the village of Ibilin in Galilee in 1843 and became associated with the Carmelite Order, founding convents in India and in Bethlehem. Described as a mystic who taught others how to pray and to feel close to God, Bawrdy was also almost entirely illiterate. Her contemporary, Mary-Alphonsine Ghattas, was an educator and spent time working as a nurse. The nun, who was born in Jerusalem in 1847, opened schools in Jordan and in Palestine, and was described as an active promoter of women’s education.
The process of canonization is long and as such the woman are only just now moving towards sainthood, despite Bawardy starting the process as far back as 1927. In order to become a saint an individual must have lived an exemplary holy and ethical life; be proven by history scholars to have inspired other Christians who worshiped with them; and to have two miracles attributed to them since their death. Both women exemplified the virtues of the Church, Shomali explained.
“I allow myself to use an analogy,” said Shomali. “Every year a Nobel Prize is given to the best people who render great services to humanity in the field of science… or peace. A Nobel Peace Prize winner is an outstanding man or woman who sacrificed oneself and put all of his or her energy into conflict resolution… or denouncing oppression and injustice.” The Church has its own way to recognize those amongst its ranks who have proven the most worthy.
A third possible Arab-Christian saint, a Salesian monk, is being studied by scholars at the Vatican to deem whether he will be advanced towards sainthood.
Bawardy, who lived a troubled life – being orphaned at the age of two and dying herself aged only 33 – was reported to have been visited by miracles throughout her short lifetime, in the form of religious ecstasies and stigmata. Ghattas was believed to perform a miracle in 2009, when a group of young girls fell into a septic tank and survived after being submerged for several minutes. One of the girls’mothers said she had prayed to Ghattas to save her daughter.
There are believed to be over 10,000 catholic saints. The Church is careful as to who is canonized and limits the number of individuals. During his 27 years as pope John Paul II canonized 110 saints, a figure that was considered higher than usual. The purpose of canonization is to officially recognize the veneration of an individual and to confirm that God is working through them.
The veneration of these saints will be an important moment for Catholic Palestinians, Iness Al-Yacoub, Superior General of the Rosary Sisters of Jerusalem told The Media Line. She explained that it showed that religion went beyond individuality or nationality, “This is good for the Palestinian people, for Arabs and for all of the world. It means that we have to love and accept others. We have to forgive and to be peace makers.”
Just over two percent of people living in Israel are Christian, around 160,000 people, of whom many are Catholics.
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