On Saturday, Pope Francis met with about 500 members of the Salesian family to celebrate the canonization of Artemide Zatti, the lay doctor known as “the holy nurse of Patagonia.”
The Pope also recalled the role of the Salesians in the most disadvantaged areas of Buenos Aires.
POPE FRANCIS
The Salesians arrived in Argentina in 1875 and at first, they carried out their ministry in Buenos Aires. In Buenos Aires they did not go to the most prominent neighborhood, they went to Boca, where there were the communists, the socialists, those who were against the priests! That is where the Salesians went.
Moreover, Pope Francis praised their dedication to prayer and work.
POPE FRANCIS
They are pious, joyful and hardworking people. You do not see 'inferiority complexes' in them. No, they are mature. They do not have a complex about not being priests, and they do not aspire to be deacons, no, brothers; they do not want promotions: brothers, because all the richness is there. They are aware of their vocation and they want it that way.
After being declared blessed in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, Artemide Zatti has become the first Argentinean lay saint.
CA
TR: AT
