Pope Leo XIV proclaimed seven new saints during a canonization Mass at St. Peter's Square on Sunday.
Before a jubilant crowd of about 70,000 pilgrims waving flags from Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, Armenia, and Italy, the Pope declared the canonization of figures he called "lamps capable of spreading the light of Christ."
The seven are Venezuela's beloved "doctor of the poor," José Gregorio Hernández; a lay catechist martyred in Papua New Guinea; an Armenian archbishop killed during the genocide of 1915; three women religious who served the poor and sick; and Bartolo Longo, an Italian who famously converted from Satanism to become a fervent Catholic evangelist.
"Today we have before us seven witnesses, the new saints, who with God's grace kept the lamp of faith burning," Leo said in his homily. "May their intercession assist us in our trials and their example inspire us in our shared vocation to holiness."
Enormous portraits of the new saints adorned the façade of St. Peter's Basilica as the Pope pronounced the canonization formula in Latin, drawing cheers and applause, The Times reported.
The Mass marked the second canonization rite of Leo's pontificate and coincided with World Mission Sunday.
Among those canonized, Hernández stands as Venezuela's first saint. Thousands of Venezuelans filled the square, draping flags over barricades and weeping with joy as the Pope read his name.
Known for offering free medical care to the poor, Hernández was killed in 1919 after being struck by a car while delivering medicine to an elderly patient.
His sainthood cause, which began in the 1940s, was long championed by millions of Venezuelans.
Another Venezuelan, Sister María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez, was also declared a saint.
Born without a left arm, she founded the Servants of Jesus in Caracas in 1965 and devoted her life to education and social work.
From Papua New Guinea, St. Peter To Rot became the nation's first saint.
As Catholic News Agency reported, To Rot was executed during World War II for defying Japanese occupiers who permitted polygamy, defending the sanctity of Christian marriage "until his death."
The Pope also canonized Archbishop Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan, martyred during the Armenian genocide after refusing to renounce his faith.
Before his execution, Maloyan declared, "I consider the shedding of my blood for my faith to be the sweetest desire of my heart."
St. Bartolo Longo, once a Catholic who became an atheist and satanist priest, underwent a dramatic conversion and dedicated his life to the rosary, founding the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii, one of Italy's most visited Marian sites.
The three women saints — Rendiles Martínez, Vincenza Maria Poloni of Verona, and a Salesian missionary, Maria Troncatti of Ecuador's Amazon — were praised for their lives of mercy, service, and missionary zeal.
In closing, Leo urged prayers for peace in conflict zones, including Myanmar, Ukraine, and the Holy Land.
"The Church is entirely missionary," he said, "and today we pray especially for those who left everything to bring the Gospel to those who do not know it.
"May the Lord bless them — and may the light of these new saints guide us all toward holiness."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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