The sisters were known for their work setting up schools for girls and apparitions of the Virgin Mary
Pope Francis makes two Palestinian nuns saints
Pope Francis canonized two Palestinian nuns on Sunday, making them the first Arabic-speaking Catholic saints.
Sisters Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas lived in Ottoman-ruled Palestine in the 19th century and were canonised in hopes of encouraging Christians across the Middle East facing a wave of persecution from Islamic extremists.
They were among four nuns who were made saints on Sunday at a Mass in St Peter's Square, Rome, where thousands turned up to watch.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attended the ceremony. As did an estimated 2,000 pilgrims from the region, some waving Palestinian flags to celebrate the occasion.
The sisters have become the first saints from the Holy Land since the early years of Christianity.
Thousands gathered for the special mass given by Pope Francis on SundaySister Ghattas was born in Jerusalem co-founded the Congregation of the Rosary Sisters which runs nurseries and schools for girls.
Sister Bawardy was born in Galilee to parents from Syria and Lebanon. She is said to have experienced stigmata – wounds in the hands and feet said to reflect Jesus’ suffering on the cross.
Both apparently saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary and lived in very tough conditions.
Church officials have hailed their canonization as encouragement for Christians in the Middle East – where their populations are dwindling and violent persecution has driven many from the region.
Pope Francis speaks with Palestinian authority President Mahmud Abbas during a private audience on 16 May 2015 in the VaticanPresident Abbas met with the Pope on Saturday, calling him “an angel of peace” and presenting him with a medallion representing the angel destroying the “bad spirit of war”.
His visit came days after the Vatican finalised a bilateral treaty with the “state of Palestine” in an explicit recognition of statehood.
The Vatican said it had expressed “great satisfaction” over the new treaty during the talks with the Palestinian delegation and expressed hopes that direct peace talks with Israel would resume.
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