At 10 a.m. October 5 in St. Peter’s Square, in the presence of about 30,000 people, John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist and canonized Blessed Arnold Janssen, Blessed Joseph Freinademetz.

Mr. Len Uhal, National Vocation Director and SVD Alumni Director, was with a contingent of laity connected with the SVD who traveled from the US to Rome for the canonization. Len said, “When the pope recognized the canonization of Arnold Janssen, the crowd erupted. When the pope recognized the canonization of Joseph Freinademetz, the crowd went ecstatic!” (Saint Joseph Freinademetz was from Southern Tyrol, which is now a part of Italy.)

Delegations of Divine Word Missionaries, Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters and Holy Spirit Sisters of Perpetual Adoration from the far-flung corners of the earth were among those gathered. The lay people, as part of the religious “family” of St. Arnold, mingled with the religious priests, Brothers and Sisters in a spirit of true camaraderie. Len said, “Despite all the different languages, we all enjoyed a wonderful sense of belonging to the same family.” In his homily, the pope said, “As these new saints teach us, evangelization ... always entails an explicit proclamation of Christ. This is the example and the precious heritage that these three saints, today elevated to the altars, leave to their religious families in a special way. The first task of the mis sionary institutes is the mission ‘ad gentes’ which should not be put off in preference of any other social or humanitarian commitment, no matter how necessary.”

Referring to St. Arnold Janssen, the pope said that “his priestly activity was full of zeal in spreading he Word of God, even using new means of mass communication, especially the press. He never was discouraged by obstacles. He used to like to repeat: ‘Announcing the Good News is the first and main expression of love for one’s neighbor.’”

Speaking about St. Joseph Freinademetz, the Holy Father emphasized that “with the tenacity typical of mountain people, this generous ‘witness of love’ dedicated himself wholly to the Chinese people of Southern Shandong.

Through love and with love, he embraced their conditions of life, in line with the advice that he himself used to give to his missionaries: ‘Missionary work is in vain if we do not love and are not loved.’ He was an exemplary model of evangelical inculturation.”

On the day after the canonization, the Holy Father received the pilgrims who attended the canonization of the saints he called the “three champions of evangelization.” John Paul II emphasized that St. Arnold Janssen “was an ardent animator of the ecclesiastical mission in Central Europe. He gave proof of his courage while opening a missionary house in Steyl, Netherlands, when the Church went through a difficult time due to the so-called ‘Kulturkampf.’” He concluded saying, “Through the Society of the Divine Word, Providence sent St. Joseph Freinademetz to China where he remained until his death. ‘All your life for your beloved Chinese’ is the pledge that he made to himself the day of his perpetual profession. He stayed faithful to this motto throughout his life with the help of God. He became Chinese with the Chinese. May he continue to watch over that nation and the entire Asian continent from heaven.”