Two wonderful stories from today! I am especially delighted at the news about Cardinal Pironio as I met him a number of times while working at the Vatican, but my most vivid memories are of our encounters at the 1993 World Youth Day in Denver when we met on a number of occasions. I was with the papal party at the time and had occasion to spend some quality time with the Vatican prelates in Denver for WYD, in particular Cardinal Pironio who, at the time, headed the Council for the Laityy, the office that organized World Youth Days. I was always impressed by the cardinal’s humility and simplicity, his great love of the faith and the Church and I always sensed a holiness about him.
I well remember him telling me one day the story of how he was the last of 22 children his mother was not supposed to have, according to her doctor! I remember tearing up when Pope John Paul told the very same story at the cardinal’s funeral on February 7, 1998:
“His was a faith learned at his mother’s knee. A woman of solid yet simple Christian background, she was able to impress the genuine Gospel meaning of life on her children’s hearts. “In the history of my family”, the late Cardinal said one day, “there is something miraculous. When she gave birth to her first son, my mother was barely 18 years old and fell seriously ill. After her recovery the doctors told her that she would not be able to have any more children without risking her own life. So she went to consult the Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata, who told her: ‘Doctors can be mistaken: put yourself in God’s hands and do your duty as a wife’. My mother then gave birth to 21 more. I am the last, and she lived until she was 82. But the story does not end here, for in later years I was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata, replacing the very Bishop who had blessed my mother. On the day of my episcopal ordination,” Cardinal Pironio continued, “the Archbishop gave me that Bishop’s pectoral cross without knowing the story behind it. When I told him that I owed my life to the cross’ owner, he wept.”
Pope Francis baptises three-month-old Ukrainian baby, Zakhariy, the youngest of ten children of a Ukrainian couple, during a liturgy in the chapel of his Casa Santa Marta residence.
The Ukrainian parents of Zakhariy, a three-month-old baby boy baptised by Pope Francis in the chapel of his residence, Casa Santa Marta, on Monday afternoon, 6 November, were graced with a joyful moment in a very difficult period.
The 37-year-old father’s name is Vitaly, and his 35-year-old wife’s is Vita, 35. Their littlest one is the most recent arrival of their ten children, composed of seven boys and three girls.
The family lives in Kamianets-Podilskyi, in western Ukraine, a region relatively distant from the frontlines of the war unleashed by Russia in February last year.
They belong to the Neocatechumenal Way and say that in recent years they have experienced God’s Providence in the midst of many family difficulties, which were further aggravated by the Russian invasion.
“We endure everything thanks to God, because God always takes care of our family,” says Vita “There is war in the country,” and “it is very difficult. Everyone is praying for this war to end soon, for all the prisoners to return home and for there to be no more killing.”
“The Baptism was a great gift for our family,” she adds. “I could never have even dreamed that we could be with the Holy Father and that he could baptise our son. But God is making such a wonderful story with us, which we still do not fully understand.”
Bishop Leon Dubrawski, the Latin rite bishop of Kamianets-Podilskyi, was also present at the liturgy, and accompanied the couple to the Vatican.
He recalled how God’s love is transmitted from generation to generation through the family.
As recently as Wednesday, Pope Francis continues to remind the world of the drama endured by the “martyred Ukrainian people.”
The baptism of little Zakhariy offers a new hope for this numerous family that cannot forget the war, but continues to have faith in a peaceful future.
POPE OPENS PATH TO BEATIFICATION OF ARGENTINIAN CARDINAL PIRONIO
Pope Francis recognises a miracle attributed to the intercession of Cardinal Edoardo Francisco Pironio, and proclaims the “heroic virtues” of three other individuals.
By Joseph Tulloch
Pope Francis has recognised a miracle attributed to the intercession of Edoardo Francisco Pironio, the Argentine Cardinal known to many as “the friend of God.”
In an audience on Wednesday morning with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Cause of the Saints, Pope Francis gave his assent to the publication of a decree regarding the miracle, thus paving the way for Pironio’s beatification.
Legacy of service
Cardinal Pironio was born in Argentina in 1920, to a family of Italian immigrants. He was the last of 23 children.
During his lifetime, he was well-known for his humility and profound spirituality, as well as for his close relationships with the homeless people living in the vicinity of St Peter’s Square.
Once considered a leading candidate for the papacy, he was a key figure in the Latin American Church, serving as both secretary and president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference.
In 1975, Pope Paul VI called him to Rome, where he was created cardinal. From 1984 to 1996, he served as president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
Cardinal Pironio died in Rome in 1998, after a long and difficult illness.
Pope Francis: Pironio ‘never closed the door to anyone’
During his time in Argentina, Pironio met with Jorge Mario Bergoglio, then provincial of the Jesuits, later to become Pope Francis.
In an interview, the Pope said of Pironio: “When you spoke with him, he always gave you the feeling that he was the worst man in the world, the worst sinner.”
“He would open a panorama of holiness to you from his profound humility. He opened horizons for you; you realised that he never closed the door to anyone, even people he knew did not understand him,” said Pope Francis.
Heroic virtues recognised
During the meeting on Wednesday, Pope Francis also recognized the “heroic virtues” of three individuals – Giuseppe Marrazzo, Eliswa of the Blessed Virgin Mary (born Eliswa Vakayil), and Francesca Foresti (born Eleanora).
Two of these – Marrazzo, a Rogationist priest, and Foresti, a Franciscan nun – were Italian, while Sr. Eliswa hailed from the Indian state of Kerala.
The Pope’s decision means that all three – already recognised as Servants of God – will now be recognised as Venerable, the next step in the beatification process.
Joan's Rome 