Describing the Church’s new leader as a man of peace and prayer, Bishop Richard F. Stika spoke March 13 to the Knoxville media soon after Pope Francis was introduced to the world. Just as Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation was surprising, so was the relatively quick election of Cardinal Jorge Mario …
Blessed Franciscan friars
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By
Bee Goodman
Oct. 31 beatification for five Georgia Martyrs is 429 years in the making By Bee Goodman On a Sunday morning in September 1597, a Franciscan priest on the Georgia coast was preparing to celebrate Mass. He never reached the altar. Father Pedro de Corpa and four fellow Franciscans, Father Blas Rodríguez, Father Miguel de Añón, and Father Francisco de Veráscola Sáez de Castañiza, and Brother Antonio de Badajóz, will be declared Blessed 429 years later. The Diocese of Savannah on the coast of Georgia will celebrate the beatification Mass on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 11 a.m. at the Savannah Convention Center. Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto will preside as papal legate, representing Pope Leo XIV. It will be the first beatification in Georgia and the first in the American South. According to the diocese, it will also be only the sixth on American soil. The Franciscans are known as the... Read more →