ROME. Pope Francis on Friday criticized the “radical individualism” prevalent in today’s society, as he welcomed Argentine pilgrims visiting for this weekend’s canonization of the first female saint from his home country.
Instead, Francis hailed the 18th-century Argentine laywoman affectionately known as Mama Antula, who dedicated herself to serving the poor and preserving Jesuit spirituality in Argentina after the suppression of the religious order, to which the pope belongs.
On Sunday, Francis will canonize Mama Antula, also known as María Antonia di San Giuseppe de Paz y Figueroa, in a ceremony that will also mark his inaugural encounter with Argentina’s new libertarian president, Javier Milei.
Milei, who has advocated for relaxed labor laws and proposed the sale of one’s own vital organs, was scheduled to arrive in Rome on Friday from Israel. Following the canonization Mass on Sunday, he is set to have formal meetings on Monday with Francis and later with Italy’s right-wing leader, Premier Giorgia Meloni.
Addressing pilgrims who journeyed to Rome for the event, Francis lauded Mama Antula as an exemplar who risked everything to propagate the faith, particularly among the most impoverished.
“Mama Antula’s charitable work, especially in aiding the neediest, stands out today in a society at risk of forgetting that radical individualism is the most insidious virus to combat,” he remarked. “A virus that deceives. It convinces us that it’s all about indulging one’s ambitions freely.”
Born in 1730 into a wealthy family in Tucuman, Argentina, Mama Antula relinquished her privilege at the age of 15 to join a community of women inspired by Jesuit ideals. After the Jesuit order was suppressed in 1767 and its members expelled from Spain’s colonies, Mama Antula persevered in keeping the Jesuits’ Ignatian spiritual practices alive by disseminating them across Argentina, even at the risk of imprisonment.
“This clandestine dimension must not be forgotten. It holds great significance,” Francis emphasized. “Another message she imparts to us in today’s world is to not yield in the face of adversity, to persevere in our noble intentions of spreading the Gospel to all, notwithstanding the challenges that may arise.”
While the first Jesuit and Argentine pope clearly harbors a special admiration for a Jesuit-inspired Argentine figure like Mama Antula, this is not the first instance where he has bestowed sainthood upon a compatriot close to his heart. In 2016, Francis canonized Argentina’s first saint: José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, a poncho-clad, mate-drinking “gaucho priest” who ministered in the outskirts of Argentina and bore many similarities to Francis himself in the 19th century.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
