VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis canonized six new saints Sunday, including a priest and a nun from the Indian state of Kerala, during a packed ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.
The pope said the new saints, four Italians from far-flung provinces and two Indians from the Syro-Malabar Church, one of 22 Eastern rite churches that operates in full communion with Rome, provided examples of service to ”the smallest and the poorest.”
”They dedicated themselves, without holding back, to serving the least and assisting the destitute, sick, elderly and pilgrims,” Francis told the crowd.
Some 5,000 faithful traveled from Kerala state for the solemn event.
“Today is a big day for Indian people, especially for Indian people coming from Kerala,” said Elsy Chandy Plammoottil, a pilgrim from Kerala. ”We got two saints: Eufrasia Eluvathingal and Kuriakose Elias Chavara. They are very important people for us.”