VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI in Brazil - “Let us give thanks to God for the lasting benefits obtained through the powerful evangelising influence that the Holy Spirit impressed upon so many souls through Frei Galvão”

Sao Paulo (Agenzia Fides) - At an open air Mass at the Campo de Marte, in Sao Paulo in the morning of Friday 11 May Pope Benedict XVI canonised the first Brazilian born saint Friar Antonio di Sant'Anna Galvão and he said .“ Yes, we cannot fail to praise our God. Let all of us praise him, peoples of Brazil and America, let us sing to the Lord of his wonders, because he has done great things for us. Today, Divine Wisdom allows us to gather around his altar with praise and thanksgiving for the grace granted to us in the canonisation of Fra Antonio di Sant'Anna Galvão”. “Let us give thanks to God for the lasting benefits obtained through the powerful evangelising influence that the Holy Spirit impressed upon so many souls through Frei Galvão - the Pope said in his homily The Franciscan charism, lived out in the spirit of the Gospel, has borne significant fruits through his witness as an ardent adorer of the Eucharist, as a prudent and wise guide of the souls who sought his counsel, and as a man with a great devotion to the Immaculate Conception of Mary, whose "son and perpetual servant" he considered himself to be".”
Then the Pope said “God comes towards us… He reveals himself through his word, in the sacraments and especially in the Eucharist. … The Holy Eucharist contains all the spiritual wealth of the Church, that is to say Christ himself, our Passover, the living bread come down from heaven, given life by the Holy Spirit and in turn life-giving because it is the source of Life for mankind”. Christians “must come to know the faith of the Church through her ordained ministers, through the exemplary manner in which they carry out the prescribed rites that always point to the eucharistic liturgy as the centre of the entire task of evangelisation. The faithful, in their turn, must seek to receive and to venerate the Most Holy Sacrament with piety and devotion, eager to welcome the Lord Jesus with faith, and having recourse, whenever necessary, to the sacrament of reconciliation so as to purify the soul from every grave sin.”.
The Holy Father said Friar Galvão was an example of willingness to serve others, of making peace among souls and families, charity for the poor and the infirm, people flocked to him for confession for his zeal, wisdom and prudence. “My dearest friends, what a fine example Frei Galvão has left for us to follow!” the Pope said in his homily underlining the importance of the Saint's example today and he continued: “The world needs transparent lives, clear souls, pure minds that refuse to be perceived as mere objects of pleasure. It is necessary to oppose those elements of the media that ridicule the sanctity of marriage and virginity before marriage”.
At the end of his homily Pope Benedict XVI entrusted to the Blessed Virgin Mary the lives of priests and lay consecrated persons, seminarians and those called to the religious life, and he said, "Be holy as I am holy " (Lev 11, 44), “in the conviction that holiness is not only possible but also necessary for every person in his or her own state of life, so as to reveal to the world the true face of Christ, our friend! Amen!
!” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 12/5/2007; righe 39, parole 565)