Shocking as Ex-Satanic Priest made Saint
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Catholic Church, officially canonized seven new saints during a solemn ceremony held at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
The event drew around 55,000 attendees, filled with prayers, hymns, and the reading of the canonization formula in Latin, which formally recognized these seven individuals as saints.
Among those honored were Saint Ignatius Maloyan, an Armenian archbishop who was martyred during the 1915 genocide; Saint Peter To Rot, the first saint from Papua New Guinea, who lost his life defending the sanctity of marriage; and Saint Vincenza Maria Poloni from Italy.
The list also included Saint María Carmen Rendiles Martínez from Venezuela, Saint Maria Troncatti from Italy, Saint José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros from Venezuela, and Saint Bartolo Longo from Italy.
The ceremony held in the Vatican was a heartfelt tribute to lives dedicated to faith, service, and redemption. Among those canonized were three nuns who were honored for their unwavering commitment to caring for the poor and the sick.
Also elevated to sainthood was Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer who had a tumultuous past as a priest of Satan before finding his way back to Catholicism.
Once he returned to the Church, he devoted himself to promoting devotion to the Virgin Mary and went on to establish the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii.
“Today we have before us seven witnesses, the new saints, who, with God’s grace, kept the lamp of faith burning,” Pope Leo XIV said in his homily. “May their intercession assist us in our trials and their example inspire us in our shared vocation to holiness.”
As he spoke, massive portraits of the seven new saints were unveiled from the basilica’s windows, prompting applause and heartfelt cheers from the faithful gathered below, as reported by AFP.
The canonization process kicks off at the diocesan level, typically five years after someone passes away. During this time, the local bishop looks into their life, writings, and reputation for holiness.
Once enough evidence is collected, the case is sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where the individual is recognized as a Servant of God.
If the Vatican’s theologians and historians determine that the person led a life of ‘heroic virtue’, the Pope then declares them Venerable. This means the Church acknowledges their remarkable holiness, but public veneration or worship isn’t allowed just yet.
The next phase is Beatification, which requires a verified miracle attributed to the person’s intercession after their death—unless they were a martyr, in which case they can be beatified without one. Once beatified, the individual receives the title ‘Blessed’ and can be publicly honored in certain regions or communities.
Finally, canonization occurs after a second miracle is confirmed, with the Pope officially declaring the person a Saint during a public ceremony, complete with the canonization formula.
This last step allows for universal veneration within the Church, and the newly canonized saint is often assigned a feast day in the liturgical calendar.
Shocking as Ex-Satanic Priest made Saint
