Bartolo Longo is a saint. The Pope: "An authentic man, not a hero."

Vatican City – "We enroll them in the roll of saints, decreeing that they be devoutly honored throughout the Church." With this solemn formula, pronounced before 70.000 faithful in a sun-drenched St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV canonized seven new saints this morning, including the Italian Bartolo Longo, lay founder of the Shrine of Pompeii.

A roar of joy rose from the square, joining in spirit with that from Pompeii, where thousands of faithful followed the ceremony live from giant screens set up in the sanctuary's square. "We prayed so much," was the moving comment from many pilgrims in the Marian city.

The “great celebration of holiness”

On a missionary day marked, however, by the shadows of war, the Pontiff pointed to the world new examples of faith. The geography of holiness, the Pope emphasized, is vast and today encompasses the entire planet.

Along with Bartolo Longo, Italy is celebrating two other saints: Sister Maria Troncatti and Sister Vincenza Maria Poloni. Mayor Damiano Tommasi was also present in the square for the latter, a native of Verona.

But the Church also celebrated: Peter To Rot, the first saint of Papua New Guinea, whose compatriots were present in the square in their traditional dress.

Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan, Armenian Catholic Archbishop, martyr of the 1915 genocide.

José Gregorio Hernandez and María del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez, the first two saints in the history of Venezuela.

The story of Bartolo Longo and the appeal for peace

Representing Italy was the highest official of the state, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, accompanied by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana.

In his homily, Pope Leo XIV described the new saints not as "heroes or champions of some ideal, but authentic men and women." This portrait perfectly fits Bartolo Longo, whose life was "uneven": from a young anticlerical and spiritualist to a tireless protector of the poor, dedicating his life to orphans and the children of prisoners, for whom he built the imposing Pompeii work.

The Pope then turned his thoughts to the world's tragedies. At the Angelus, he launched a new, heartfelt appeal for peace in the Holy Land, Ukraine, and Myanmar. "God is there where the innocent suffer," the Pontiff said. "When we are crucified by pain and violence, by hatred and war, Christ is already there, on the cross for us and with us."