Contributors to Christianity The concept of Saints

Mother Teresa Agnes Gonxha Bohaxhiu was born in 1910 in Macedonia Felt the call of God at 12 yrs old and left for Ireland at 18 yrs old to join the Sisters of Loreto (convent) 1931: became a nun in India and taught in a Catholic girls school in Calcutta She devoted her life to helping the poorest of the poor (those that had been left behind) after seeing the poverty outside the school walls

1950: receives permission to begin her own order (convent) The Missionaries of Charity The order has spread with many branches around the world (Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America) to help those in poverty, refugees and/or victims of natural/manmade disasters She has received many awards for her work, including Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and has received support from all over the world She died in 1997.

Pope John Paul II Karol Wojtyla was born in 1920 in Poland He saw first hand the cruelty of the Nazi regime, as well as the religious oppression under the Soviet Communist system that took over after WW2 He was ordained as a priest in 1946 and moved through the ranks until he was named a cardinal in 1967 He was elected pope in 1978 (first non Italian pope in 455 yrs)

Pope of contradictions Conservations Reforms Fought to build more communication between Judaism, Islam and Christianity Involved in the collapse of Communism (esp. Poland) Assassination attempt on his life (1981), he publicly forgave his would be killer Spoke out against oppressive regimes Openly denounced abortion and birth control Openly against homosexuality Openly against stem cell research Difficulty in accepting the need to reform the Church policies, resulting in a loss of followers of Roman Catholicism

What is a saint? A person that demonstrated a lifestyle of almost perfect spiritual virtue There are many saints in Christianity: St. Paul – a Jewish high priest (Saul) who converted to Catholicism after years of persecuting early Christians. Credited for turning Christianity from a small Jewish sect into a full fledged religion. Was executed in Rome by the Romans

St. Valentine – priest in Rome who was martyred (executed) under order of Claudius II for helping early Christians that were being persecuted Why love??? He would secretly marry young soldiers (Claudius wanted his military to be made up of young, unmarried men)

St. Patrick – credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland St. Patrick – credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. He explained the Holy Trinity with the use of a shamrock. He also was credited with driving the snakes out of Ireland (snakes = pagan religions)

How do you become a saint? Canonization: Bishop presents the person up for discussion – are they virtuous? If the person is, they become beatified: they can be honored by specific groups within the religion (ex. Mother Theresa is now known as the Blessed Mother Theresa of Kolkata) The person is canonized if there is proof of a posthumous miracle Mother Theresa – said to have visited a girl in her dreams to tell her she was free from cancer, and that another woman survived a huge car accident because she was wearing a Mother Theresa medallion 4. If correct, the Pope will recommend the person for full acceptance by the Catholic church as a saint.