| Argentina – Echoes of the beatification of Ceferino Namuncurá |
| Argentina - Ceferino is Blessed |
Present at the celebration held in the church of St Juan Bosco de la Cisterna, were various members of the Salesian Family, of the Mapuche Community from Santiago and religious from a number of Congregations.
Before the Mass, Domingo, Rosita and Manuel Namuncurá, direct descendents of Ceferino’s family, replying to journalists expressed their own joy and gratitude to the Diocese of Santiago and to the Salesian Congregation for the celebration saying that the beatification of Ceferino represented a special opportunity for the native population and a recognition of their values: “Now we have a representative of our tribe to make our culture better appreciated.”
The Mass, celebrated in Spanish and in Mapudungún, was animated by Fr Luis Manuel Rodríguez SVD and Fr Francisco Belec SME, religious whose pastoral work is among the Mapuche, and by Francisco Painepán, from the Mapuche Community.
Fr Leonardo Santibáñez, Vice Provincial of the Salesians in Chile, who gave the homily reminded those present that “the beatification of Ceferino ought to be an invitation to us to see to the all round formation of young people to help them grow in love for life, for the family, for the country and for solidarity.”
Published 28/11/2007
