Pope Francis Canonize 14 Years Old Martyr

Pope Francis on Sunday canonized six men and a woman, including a child martyr from Mexico and a “gaucho priest” from Argentina – in a mass at St Peter’s Square, Rome. 

They all “fought the fight of faith and love,” said Francis in a Sunday mass before tens of thousands of worshippers. Among the new saints is Jose Sanchez del Rio, a Mexican-born boy, who at 14 was tortured and executed in 1928. 

He was executed for refusing to renounce Catholicism under the anti-clerical policies of the Calles Government. Pope Francis salutes as he gives his traditional Christmas "Urbi et Orbi" blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on December 25, 2014 at the Vatican.  Also canonized is the Dominican priest Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, who, according to Vatican Radio, is a favourite of the current pope. Known during his lifetime as the “gaucho priest,” Brochero crossed the mountains of Argentina on a mule, helping country people by building churches, schools, roads and water infrastructure. 

Rounding out the new saints were also two Italians, two French nationals and a Spaniard. The sole woman is the French mystic Elisabeth Catez, also known as the Elisabeth of the Trinity