In Thanksgiving for 32 Saints of St. Francis' Family
ROME, OCT. 2, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Hours after 32 of their religious family were canonized, a group of almost four dozen Franciscans took up where their predecessors left off.
During solemn vespers in the Church of Aracoeli, 36 Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary and 10 friars received the mandate from Father Giacomo Bini, minister general, to take the Gospel to distant lands.
They expressed gratitude for the canonization of the 32 Franciscan martyrs who died in China - among the 120 from the 17th and 20th centuries were who canonized by John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.
Sister Benedetta, a member of the Franciscan Missionaries, said, «By sending 15 sisters to Africa, nine to Latin America, four to Russia, six to Arab countries, and two to China/Hong Kong, we wanted to thank the Lord for our martyrs.»
The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary number 8,000 and work in 74 countries. In 1898 they had five communities in China, among which was Shanxi, where seven Franciscan Sisters arrived May 4, 1899.
The sisters - two Italians, three French, one Belgian and one Dutch, between 25 and 34 years of age - were killed in the Taiwan-fu mission July 9 of the following year, during a massacre carried out by the Boxers.
For the past month, 36 Franciscan sisters of various nationalities had been meeting in Grottaferrata near Rome to prepare for their departure to the missions.
«Our communities are international,» Sister Elena, 36, explained. «Several cultures are present in one fraternity, as a sign of the universal Church, testifying that reconciliation among peoples is possible.» Sister Elena is going to Russia, where the sisters help the Orthodox bishop of Novgorod and the homeless.
The same objective inspires Sister Silvana, 35, who is going to Syria. «What am I going to do in a Muslim country? I am not going there to do something but to witness to Christ's presence,» she said.
Several Franciscan brothers also received the mandate to go to the Congo, Rwanda, Albania and Russia. Four priests will open a house of formation in Belgium for future missionaries.
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