Rome (Italy). On 19 October 2025 in Rome in St. Peter’s Square, during the Eucharistic Celebration with the rite of Canonization, Pope Leo, proclaimed seven new Saints: Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, Catholic Armenian Archbishop of Mardin; Peter To Rot, lay martyr; Vincenza Maria Poloni, Founder of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona; Maria Carmen Rendiles Martinez founder of the Sister Slaves of Jesus; the laymen Bartolo Longo and José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros; and Sister Maria Troncatti, missionary Daughter of Mary Help of Christians.
Great was the celebration of around 70,000 faithful who filled the square up to the middle of Via della Conciliazione, in a celebration of colors, raising banners, flags, and images of the new Saints. Well recognizable with the colored hats, the bag with the logo, and lots of Salesian joy, were the numerous Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the young men and women of the Salesian Youth Movement, the members of the Salesian Family, the citizens of Corteno Golgi and Brescia, and many friends of Sister Maria Troncatti.
Present in the Square were the Superior General of the FMA Institute, Mother Chiara Cazzuola; the General Councilors; the Provincials; Juwa Bosco, miraculously healed by Sister Maria, with the family and great-grandchildren of the new Saint from Corteno Golgi, in the province of Brescia.
In the initial rites, the invocation to the Holy Spirit was followed by the Petition. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, accompanied by the Postulators – among whom Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, Postulator of the Salesian Family – went before the Holy Father and requested that the Canonization of the Blessed be carried out, which he presented through a short biography.
Reading the dates and main moments of the life of the Holy FMA – the first after the Co-Founder, Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello – the Cardinal highlighted an aspect that portrays her well. “She was at the forefront in the defense of the rights and dignity of the local inhabitants and of women.”
In a crescendo of emotions, after having raised the litanies to heaven, asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, Pope Leo read the formula of Canonization, enrolling the seven candidates in the register of Saints and establishing that “throughout the Church they be devoutly honored among the Saints.”
The faithful welcomed the Pope’s words with loud applause, expression of immense joy. The celebration continued with the offering of incense for the veneration of the relics placed under the painting of Our Lady of Good Counsel, with the song of praise to God and with thanks to the Pope on the part of the Prefect together with the Postulators.
In his homily, commenting on the Readings, Pope Leo emphasized the importance of faith, that is, the bond of love between God and humanity. “Precisely today, seven witnesses are before us, the new Saints, who by the grace of God, kept the lamp of faith burning, indeed, have themselves become lamps capable of spreading the light of Christ.”
He also highlighted the “need to pray always, without ever getting tired” (Lk 18:1). “Just as we never get tired of breathing, let us not get tired of praying!” he urged. He concluded the homily by recalling the testimony of the new Saints, “authentic men and women”, different in characteristics and experiences, but united by a life of faith and trustful prayer:
“These faithful friends of Christ are martyrs for their faith, like Bishop Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan and catechist Pietro To Rot. They are evangelizers and missionaries, like Sister Maria Troncatti; they are charismatic founders, like Sister Vincenza Maria Poloni and Sister Carmen Rendiles Martínez. With their hearts burning with devotion; they are benefactors of humanity, like Bartolo Longo and José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros. May their intercession assist us in trials and may their example inspire us in the common vocation to holiness. While we are pilgrims towards this goal, we pray without getting tired, steadfast in what we have learned and we firmly believe (cf. 2 Tim 3:14). Faith on earth thus supports the hope of heaven.”
During the Holy Mass, Sister Celine Jakob, Visiting Councilor of the FMA Institute, read the prayer of the faithful in English “for the rulers and peoples of the earth”, while the Deputy Postulator, Sister Francesca Caggiano, brought the Holy Father one of the pyxes at the Offertory.
“A great feast of holiness”, is how Pope Leo defined the Celebration in the words of the Angelus, thanking the Cardinals, Patriarchs, and Bishops present and gratefully greeting the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the President of Lebanon, and the official delegations, in particular of Armenia and Venezuela.
He also recalled the concomitance with World Missionary Day. “The Church is entirely missionary, but today we pray especially for those men and women who have left everything to go and bring the Gospel to those who do not know it. They are missionaries of hope among the people. May the Lord bless them!”
A happy anniversary, on the day of the Canonization of a great missionary like Sister Maria Troncatti, “Mother, Missionary, Artisan of Peace and Reconciliation”, who left everything, starting from her own land and her own family, giving her life for peace between settlers and Shuar. And now from heaven, she will continue to intercede, finally invoked as “St. Maria Troncatti” by the entire Salesian world and by the Church. “We entrust to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and the new Saints our continuous prayer for peace, in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in other places of war.”
The intense and exciting morning concluded with greetings from the Pope as he made the rounds on the Popemobile, amid songs and festive expressions from the different groups and with the exchange of greetings, relics, and images of the new Saints among the faithful leaving the Plaza.
Photos: Flickr FMA
