JERUSALEM (AP) – The Holy Land’s Christians are excitedly preparing for next week’s canonization of two Arab nuns, bringing some joy to a tiny community that has had little to celebrate in recent years.
Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas, who lived in what was Ottoman-ruled Palestine in the 19th century, will be the first from the region to receive sainthood since the early days of Christianity. They will also be the first Arabic-speaking Catholic saints.
The nuns were born in Jerusalem and a town in what is now Israel, but come from an Arabic-speaking Christian community that has mainly identified itself as Palestinian for many decades. President Mahmoud Abbas, a Muslim, will attend the canonization festivities at the Vatican on May 17, said Ziad al-Bandak, an adviser on Christian affairs to the Palestinian leader.
“This canonization has a meaning for the whole Palestinian nation,” al-Bandak said. “It’s a very important thing for Palestinians, whether they’re Muslim or Christian.”
In the birthplace of Christianity, Christians are a tiny minority, making up less than 2 percent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories.